A BEHAVIORAL ANALYSIS OF IRON AND SILICA IN IRON ORE DEPOSITS OF PARTS OF MAHAKOSHAL & BIJAWAR REGION, MADHYA PRADESH. S.V.Dhopeshwar

S.V.Dhopeshwar 1 , Mudita Shrivastava Khare 1 and Jyoti Shrivastava ,2 . 1. D‟rate. of Geology and Mining, Regional Office, Govt. of Madhya Pradesh Jabalpur M.P. 2. Dept. of Chemistry, Govt. Science, College, Jabalpur, M.P. ...................................................................................................................... Manuscript Info Abstract ......................... ........................................................................ Manuscript History

Other countries 131 Total World Production 3220 Methodology:-For the analysis of Fe-ore in the samples of both the study areas, (Bijawar and Mahakoshal regions), following procedure was adopted.
Crushed fine powder of sample is weighed and moistured with water and was covered with watch glass. Then 15-20ml of dil. HCl and few drops of conc. HNO 3 is added slowly, digested on a hot plate at low temperature. The beaker is removed from the hot plate, the watch glass is rinsed thoroughly and solution is again boiled. Now, the solution is allowed to cool, 15ml dilute HCl is added. The volume is made upto 250ml. The solution is again heated and filtered.
The residue obtained on filter paper contains Acid Insoluble part SiO 2 (A.I.) which is dried and ignited in a porcelain crucible at 900°-1000°c. The residue is cooled and weighed. Loss of wt. in grams A.I. % = x 100 Wt. of samples The filtrate obtained contains many types of oxides, Al 2 O 3 , Fe 2 O 3. 1 to 2 gm of NH 4 cl is added to the filtrate and heated to boiling. The precipitate so obtained is filtered, residue contains Fe 2 O 3 and Al 2 O 3. The residue is ignited (900°c-1000°c) and weighed. This gives the total value of Fe 2 O 3 (Fe 2 O 3 +Al 2 O 3 ). This ash is then treated with Conc. HNO 3 , HgCl 2 , acid solution, SnCl 4 and titrated with K 2 Cr 2 O 7 solution. This gives direct percentage of Fe 2 O 3 and Al 2 O 3 .

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Geographical setting:-Location and Extent of the study Area:-M.P lies on the central part of Indian subcontinent. It is flourished with iron ore deposits. The iron ores occurs mostly in the rock formations of Mahakoshal and Bijawar group.

Map 1:-
The extent of occurrence of Mahakoshal group lies in an ENE-WSE trending linear belt which occurs from Jabalpur to Sidhi district. The portions of Sidhi and Singrauli districts constitute the parts of study area of Mahakoshal group. The area is bounded by latitude 24˚15"-24˚30" N and longitude 81˚30"-82˚15" E and encompassed in Survey of India toposheet no. 63L/3, 63 H/11, 15. Bijawar group is limited to its type area and surroundings and the study area lies in parts of Chhatarpur, Sagar and Damoh districts of M.P. The region is owned with thick forest cover and content with moderate to poor road network. The National Highway No-82 passes through the area. The State Highways connect it with Damoh and Tikamgarh. Tikamgarh is about 130 Km. Sagar and Damoh are about 100 Km. and Chhatarpur.The Surveyed area encompasses parts of Damoh, Sagar and Chhatarpur districts and covered between latitudes: 24 0 15"-24 0 45" and longitudes: 79 0 0"-79 0 45". The area is categorized by undulatory terrain and marked by high hills ranges and valleys in south and mounds and plains in its north. The general height of the terrain is about 400 meters above MSL. However, central southern part of the area is traversed by Panna hill range. The range stands 100 meters above from the surroundings and more than 500 meters from the MSL. The hilly portion gradually lowers down and converges in to the alluvial plains in the north and west. The regional slope is towards west to south west the hill range acts as a water divide. Therefore, local slopes are mostly in NW or SE directions. The highest peak is in the north of Banki. The regional drainage is controlled by Ken and Dhasan river system. The other important rivers are Barana, Sukker and Bihar rivers (Map 1).

Climate:-
The climate of the area is subtropical and is characterized by general dryness except during the south west monsoon and very hot summer. The winter season is generally coldfrom mid. December to January, which is the coolest 617 period, where mercury drops about 5 0 C. The summers are quite hot here; temperature shoots up 45 0 C in May and June. The forest capped hilly terrain receives higher rains as compared to plains. As on availability of the facts and related literature the following objectives are made for this study:-1. To analyze and infer the variations of Fe 2 O 3 and Silica of iron ore deposits of study area, correlate with chemical and geological behavior. 2. An attempt to determine the factor for identifying the end use of ore, and thereafter classify them on the basis of grade as per specification made by IBM 2014. 3. Compare the iron ore deposit of parts of Mahakoshal and Bijawar region for beneficiation/up gradation of ore for its industrial utility and mineral conservation/ optimal utilization. The generalized geological set of the area is summarized below -  Here, the BIF has alternate dark ferruginous and grey siliceous bands. 6. Kalidhar: The area is situated at about 4 km SE of Hirapur, near Kalidhar river, and covered in survey of India toposheet No. 54 P/3. The entire area lies under the protected forest cover. Various linear depressions (due to non-perennial streams) between the hillocks composed large chunks of hematite. All the hills are entirely capped by laterites, in which concretions and nodules of hematite were seen. 7. Imiliya Area: The area is situated around village Imiliya, tehsil Bijawar and is at about 4 km SSW of Bijawar on Bijawar Bajna metalled road. The area contains hematite nodules and boulders. 8. Dilari Area: The area is situated in the west of Dilari and covered in Survey of India toposheet No. 54 P/10.

Geology of the
The area is part of Dilari reserved forest. Here, distinct ferruginous bands were seen in Vindhyan quartzites.
Here, the ore is principally goethite which is lateritized.

Mahakoshal Region:-
The surveyed area lies in parts of Sidhi and Singrauli districts where, iron are bearing patches occur. The iron ores of Sidhi are well-known for more than as century. The area is located in the eastern extremity of the state.

Map 3:-Location Map of Mahakoshal Region:-
The regional geology of the area is as wide spectrum ranging from Archaean to cretaceous formations. This part of study area exhibit wide and varied lithological characteristic and covers vast span from Archaean gneisses and schists to early-Proterozoic to middle Proterozoic to mid up to Proterozoic to recent alluvial deposits. The Archeans are represented by granites gneisses, schists and intrusive quartz veins and amphibolites. They occupy central part of 620 the area around Sidhi and form the basement for overlying litho-groups. The generalized geological set up is as given below:

Discussion and Interpretation:-
The present study is majorly focused to estimate iron, silica and alumina contents in form of their oxides in nearly 8 areas of Bijawar and Mahakoshal region to accomplish the goal of better productivity, good utility and fuel consumption.

Bijawar Region:-Chemical Analysis and Interpretation:-
In Bijawar region the 8 study areas examined are Sidhai-Murar, Nayakhera, Palda -Thakurpura, Chopra, Bineda, Kalidhar, Limiliya and Dilari areas. The chemical analysis of these areas are displayed in table 4. On careful examination of the above mentioned results shown in table 4 and following the prescribed norms implemented by IBM, it has been deduced that in the Bijawar region, predominantly 4 samples of Siddai -Murar, Nayakhera, Imiliya areas are found to be of high grade quality, fulfilling the requirements of making good quality steel. One of the samples of Nayakhera area shows variation in SiO 2 content, but this could be beneficiated and treated accordingly.
On the other hand, sample 5 of Nayakhera area was found to contain Fe-content 64.63% with 4.26% Sio 2 and 0.80% Al 2 O 3 sample 2 of Palda-Thakurpura area contained 64.0% Fe content with 3.84% SiO 2 and 1.50% Al 2 O 3 content, sample BD-2 of Bineda area contains 63.93% Fe with 2.38% SiO 2 and 3.45% Al 2 O 3 content. In all, it has been observed that in the Bijawar region, as per IBM specifications only 3 samples of Nayakhera, Palda-Thakurpura and Bineda areas are of medium quality grade with marginal fluctuations in silica content, which can be easily separated by various separation techniques.
In addition, all the other samples of 8 study areas, have been found to contain Fe-content below 62% well within the prescribed limits of IMB for low grade quality ore. These samples also show slight variation in silica and alumina content. Hence worth, these samples having iron content below 62% cannot be opted for making steel.
It is worth mentioning here that, amongst 8 pointed areas of Bijawar, the areas like Palda-Thakurpura, Chopra, Bineda, Kalidhar areas totally lack high grade quality ore as they do not possess the requisite amount of Fe as per the specifications of IBM in the ore. Similarly, Siddai -Murar, Chopra, Kalidhar, Imiliya and Dilari areas lack medium grade quality ore.

Geological Interpretation:-
The iron ore deposits of Bijawar group are encompassed in ferruginous lithology. The main lithounit Karri formation is the source of these Fe deposits. The ore hematite is found in form of lumps concretions and nodules which seem to be a residual erosion product of parent ferruginous rocks. Thus, the iron (Fe) % is high in these areas but they are highly variable. Thus it seems they may not succumb to systematic exploitation but may be used in up gradation of feed for steel making industries.

Mahakoshal Region:-Chemical Analysis and Interpretation:-
Chemical analysis of samples of Mahakoshal group gave variable results in the 8 study areas namely Kochita, Jhoko, Bhainsahiya, Kosomhar, Charki, Umreha, Khaddi -Jamuniha & Nimoura areas, which are tabulated in Table  5. The results shown in Mahakoshal region in accordance with IBM standards, none of the samples were found to be of high grade and medium grade quality. All the studied samples mentioned in Table 5 showed Fe-content in the ore to be less than 62%, which is not upto the specification of good quality steel, making them low grade quality ore.  Geological Interpretation:-The iron ore entity of Mahakoshal group encrusted in mainly BIF (BHQ/BHJ). It occupies central/ core portion of hill ranges the ore is mostly lumpy hematite but at places micaceous variety was also present. Further gradational changes from quartzite to BHQ are also evident in the area. In BIF, the quartzite fractions are dominating. Thus, silica is high and Fe is low, but due to uniform bedded nature of deposit, the deposit is suitable for systematic exploitation.

Comparative study of Bijawar and Mahakoshal Region:-
The comparative analysis of the two studied areas Bijawar and Mahakoshal region gave very interesting results, which could serve as a tool for further investigation and may prove beneficial for the industry.
In this comparative study 8 samples were investigated for both Bijawar and Mahakoshal regions. It has been deduced and thus interpreted from the results pointed in Table 6 that as per IBM standard specifications, none of the samples both in Bijawar as well as Mahakoshal regions were found to meet the requisite specifications for high grade quality ore.
It is to be noted that only one sample in the Bijawar group (sample 2) showed Fe-content to be 61.90% with SiO 2 content 4.92% and Al 2 O 3 4.10%, which is in marginal range to be medium grade quality ore. While all the other samples showed Fe-content ranging from 30% to 56%, above 45% may be treated as beneficial quality ore.
Conversely, in the Mahakoshal region, samples showed Fe-content in the range 24.6% to 44.4% which is below the threshold value. Henceforth, does not meet the specific requirements of raw ore in industry to make better quality steel. It has also been visualized that Bijawar regions have higher Fe-content than that of Mahakoshal regions, suggesting the Bijawar region to be a better option than Mahakoshal regions for steel making.

Diagrammatic representation of Chemical analysis of Iron ore samples of Bijawar and Mahakoshal Region
Mahakoshal Bijawar %

Ratio of Fe 2 O 3 and SiO 2 in Ore Identification:-
In order to assess the utility of steel, it is the % content of Fe in the ore that plays the major role. But, at the same time, SiO 2 and Al 2 O 3 content in the ore cannot be ignored. Fluctuation in any of them may affect the quality of steel. If the content of Si and Al shows a marked increase compared to Fe-content in the ore, it will affect the metal property and downgrade the ore, may not fulfill the specifications of IBM for making good quality steel.
To have a clear understanding of the influence of variations observed in SiO 2 content with respect to Fe 2 O 3 ,ratio of Fe 2 O 3 and SiO 2 are tabulated in nearly 8 samples of Bijawar and Mahakoshal region. It is thus predicted that if the Fe 2 O 3 /SiO 2 ratio is found to be above 2.74 in the ore sample, the sample would lie in the Fe-ore category.
The above mentioned samples displayed in Table 7 were subsequently examined and results were accordingly interpreted. It has been observed that in the Bijawar region, nearly all samples showed Fe 2 O 3 /SiO 2 ratio to be more that 2.74. On the contrary, in the Mahakoshal region, only one sample (Sample 5) showed Fe 2 O 3 /SiO 2 ratio to be 2.74, while all the other samples were below the range.
If we compare the two regions, overall Bijawar region on an average is showing Fe 2 O 3 /SiO 2 ratio to be approximately 5, while Mahakoshal region ranges on an average to 1.14. Precisely, ore samples found in Bijawar region compound to Mahakoshal region could be more likely opted and utilized for making better quality steel. Geological Interpretation:-The iron ore entity of Mahakoshal group are uniformed bedded) type where Fe % is low but in general uniform which makes it easier to quantify where as iron ores of Bijawar group are erratic in nature when lumps and boulders of hematite occur. They can very well be used to upgrade the iron ores of Mahakoshal group to meet out the requirements of establishment of mineral based industry. Observation:-If we compare Fe ore from Bijawar and Mahakoshal the first thing that strikes is the amount of Fe and the consistency of Fe %. The higher percentage and fluctuations of Fe% in Bijawar group indicates that residual concentration processes of formation of iron ore entity whereas in Mahakoshal region low Fe % indicates presence of bedded type of Fe ore bearing litho units where variation of ore is due to pinching and swelling of hematite bands in Banded iron formation (BHJ/BHQ).

Conclusion:-
In the present study, few areas of Bijawar and Mahakoshal regions were chosen to assess the iron, silica and alumina content in the form of their oxides. On chemical investigation of samples of Bijawar region, it has been found that some samples of Siddai-Murar area and Nayakhera area surpasses other areas of Bijawar region in having higher Fecontent, thus making them suitable for making quality steel. Mostly, samples of other areas of this region show quite variations in iron content, may be because this region bears Fe-ore in the form of lumps and nodules. On the other hand, the iron-ore deposits of Mahakoshal region are of uniform bedded nature, but have iron contents below the threshold value, the samples of this region could not meet the requirements of IBM for high grade and medium grade quality. Thus, was not found worthy enough for better productivity.
On comparison of iron-ore deposits of Bijawar and Mahakoshal regions, the authors have come to the conclusion that though iron-ores of Bijawar region are erratic in nature, and possess residual concentration of iron ore utility, the ores of this regions posses higher Fe content, and also Fe 2 O 3 /SiO 2 factor lies in the limits of Fe-ore category. Whereas in samples of Mahakoshal region are uniformly bedded type, but possess low iron content and Fe 2 O 3 /SiO 2 ratio is below the limits of Fe-ore category, So, ore samples of Bijawar regions may be more suited to cope up with the IBM standards for making quality steel, which could be beneficial both industrially and economically. Thus, the iron ores of Bijawar region may be used as sweetener to upgrade the iron ores of Mahakoshal region, which are low grade but may sustain systematic exploitation required for large scale mining operations.