Kyanite is a refactor material used in glass, cement and ceramic industries. It is used in furnaces and also in the manufacture of gas burning pipes, heater elements and in high voltage electrical insulators. The total recoverable reserves of kyanite are 2.82 million tones. Besides, conditional resource) of 161 million tons of kyanite are also estimated (India 2003, p.561).
Production
There has been a wide fluctuation in the production of kyanite in the country. India produced] 43,182 tones of kyanite valued at Rs. 58.57 lakhs in 1951. The production reached a record high of] 63,495 tons in 1971 valued at Rs. 149.3 lakhs. There after there has been gradual decline in the: production so as to record the lowest output of 4,564 tons in 1994-95. In 2002-03 the total production of kyanite was 5,305 tons valued at Rs 41.80 lakhs.
Regional Distribution
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Jharkhand is the largest producer of kyanite in the country followed by Maharashtra and Karnataka. Jharkhand and Maharashtra together contribute 94 per cent of the country’s output of kyanite.
Jharkhand-Jharkhand accounts for 79.90 per cent of the kyanite production of the country. In Jharkhand the kyanite deposits form a belt in east- west direction (length 130 km, width 16 km) from Lapsa Buru to Kharsawan in Saraikela.
The Lapsa Buru area (reserves 7 lakh tonnes), Manyaluka (reserves: 80,000 tonnes), Ghagidih (reserves: 20,000 tones), and Badia Bakra (10,000 tones) are important deposits in Singhbhum district. Less important deposits are found at Rakha, Uparbanda, Chirugora, Bhakar, Shirbai, Singpura, Daontanri, Padampur, Chaori Buru and Kuku-Dongri in Singhbhum district. Small deposits have also been reported from Dhanbad and Ranchi districts.
Karnataka-Karnataka’s total reserves of kyanite are estimated at 7.90 lakh tones which yielded an annual production of 297 tones (in 2002- 03). Main producers are Hassan (Thirumalpur and Mavinkere talukas), Mysore (Malleswara Betta, Kallahalli.Mundanhalli and Itna areas), Chikmagalur (Sringeri area), and Chitradurga (Holalkere taluka) districts.
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Orissa-the total reserves of kyanite in Orissa are estimated at 50,000 tonnes. Deposits occur in Dhenkanal(nearTorodanali),Mayurbhanj (atPanijia and Karpal), Sundargarh (nearGhoriajor, Kumbakara and south-west of Kodumunda) districts.
Rajasthan-In Rajasthan scattered deposits of kyanite are found near Harnai and Pansal (Bhil wara district), between Sagwara and Padri Chotti (Dungarpur district), near Kishangarh (Ajmer district), near Sansera (Udaipurdistrict), and near Bhurali (in Banswara district). In 2000-01 the total production of kyanite was 95 tones.
Others-Other minor producers of kyanite include West Bengal (Darjeeling, Bankuraand Purulia districts); Andhra Pradesh (in the Chundi range, Malenkonda and Garibpeta areas of Khammam district); Tamil Nadu (Coimbatore district); Haryana (Mahendergarh district); and Himachal Pradesh (Mahasu area).
Trade
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The Indian Copper Corporation Ltd is the chief producer of kyanite in the country. About 27 percent of the total production of kyanite is annually exported (export being 1,139 tons in 1976). Bulk of the export goes to Japan, U.S.A., U.K., Germany, France, Italy, Netherlands, Russia and Belgium.