Occurrence of Manganese Ore Deposits and Their Mineralogy in Vizianagaram-Visakhapatnam Manganese Ores Belt (Andhra Pradesh) India

Abstract

The Manganese deposits of Andhra Pradesh are associated with a thick sequence of Precambrian rocks, belonging to Khondalite and Charnockite groups of Dharwar Supergroup that forms part of 2500 to 3000 m.y. old Eastern Ghat complex of India. The study area is the Manganese deposits of Vizianagram-Visakhapatnam Manganese Belt of Andhra Pradesh. The study area lies about 150 km NE of Visakhapatnam between 18˚12ʹN -18˚30ʹN and 83˚20ʹE -83˚45ʹE. The mineralization of Manganese ores is confined to different rock types, belonging to both Khondalite and Charnockite groups, where they are dispersed throughout the country rocks as small lenses, pockets, veins and irregular bodies of varying dimensions. Quartz, garnet, clay, limonite and apatite are the common gangue minerals in the Manganese ores. The presence of quartz, garnet and apatite brings down the grade of the ore. Ferruginous laterite and ochre generally work as capping of the Manganese deposits. The various Manganese ore minerals present in these deposits are indentified as 1) Primary minerals-braunite, bixbyite, vredenburgite, jacobsite and hausmannite, 2) secondary minerals-psilomelane, cryptomelane, hollandite, pyrolusite and wad. The primary ore minerals are considered to be syngenetic and regionally metamorphosed while, the associated secondary ore minerals are formed due to alteration of the primary ores.