Sughada Pradeep

Clay deposits in Ulloor area of Taliparamba taluk, Kannur, Kerala

Clay deposits in Ulloor area of Taliparamba taluk, Kannur, Kerala

Sughada Pradeep
Directorate of Mining and Geology, Kesavadasapuram, Trivandrum 695 004, India E-mail: sughada@yahoo.com Abstract. The exploratory drilling of clay in Kannur district is progressing. At present the investigation is
going on in Uloor and Korom areas of Taliparamba taluk. The area falls in the Survey of Toposheet No.48P/8NW and 48P/4 respectively. Fifteen bore holes were drilled in Ulloor bhagom and samples collected for further analyses. The lithology of this area mainly comprises Lateritic/Bauxitic overburden followed by Lateritic sandy clay, variegated clays of reddish, pinkish yellowish and grayish. Iron formation and Peat formation are also seen in certain localities. The bed rock depth varies from 17 m to 33 m. An average of 4.5 m lateritic/bauxitic overburden is present and the clay thickness varies from 6.5 m to 15 m. The average thickness of clay deposit in this area is 11 m. The clay to laterite/bauxite ratio is 2.5:1. The borehole locations of Ulloor area falls in the Alapadamba and Eramam villages of Taliparamba taluk in Sy.No.131 and 132. Fifteen boreholes were drilled in Ulloor area and achieved a cumulative depth of 359 m. The area explored in Ulloor bhagom is 60 Hect. and the approximate reserve estimated from these area is around 13.20 million tonnes.

Introduction Kannur district, the gateway to the land of palm trees, is bounded on the north by Kasaragod and east by the state of Karnataka, on the south by the Kozhikode district and on the west by the Arabian Sea. Kannur disttict is administratively divided to three taluks viz, Taliparamba, Kannur and Thalassery. The present study area falls in Taliparamba taluk and it has 47 villages. It is stretched from the coastal area of Ramanthali to Nuchiyard and Vayathur Villages touching the Karnataka border. The three natural divisions are the low lying coastal tract in the west, the slightly undulating country east of the low land, and the picturesque mountainous area in the east, forming the Western Ghats. The elevation increases gradually towards east, the average height in the Wayanad plateau being 3000' above MSL (Fig.1). The area under exploration is an undulating plateau and is blanketed by laterite/bauxite and devoid of fertile soil. Cultivation is limited to coconut and cashew. Human settlements are sparse in this region. Geology. The following rock types are reported by Geological Survey of India in Kannur district. (i) Archaean gneisses and charnockites occurring mainly in the highlands which are covered by laterite towards west. (ii) Schistose rocks of Sargur metamorphic complex. (iii) Tertiary sedimentary rocks mostly seen along the coast and (iv) Recent and sub recent laterites and alluvium. In addition to these, there are anorthosites, intrusions of gabbro, and diorite near Kartikulam, and dykes of dolerite running for a long distance at many places and granophyric rocks at Ezhimala. Location. The study area falls in the Alapadamba and Eramam villages of Taliparamba taluk . The locations of the borehole locations in Kannur district, Taliparamba taluk are shown in Fig. 2. Thirteen borehole locations of the present investigation in Ulloor area fall in Alappadamba and Eramam villages of Taliparamba taluk.
Shaji E & Pradeepkumar AP (Eds) 2014 Mineral Resources of Kerala Trivandrum: Dept of Geology Univ of Kerala ISBN 978-81-923449-0-4 79

Sughada Pradeep

Clay deposits in Ulloor area of Taliparamba taluk, Kannur, Kerala

Fig 1. Physiography of Taliparamba taluk, Kannur district, Kerala. The geological setting of the study area are inferred from the bore hole samples and it reveals that the area is occupied by tertiary sedimentary formation that contain typical marker horizons of lignite seams and carbonaceous clays This area must have been a deep basin in which clays and peat were deposited in repeated sequence. The floor of this basin is irregular and is composed of residual clays and weathered gneiss. The variegated clays that occur in the area is of sedimentary origin. Mineral Resources. Various types mineral resources are present in Kannur district. The following have been reported. Gold: Winning of gold by panning in the past was reported in the Manantoddy area of Western Ghats, but the occurrence of gold with the present stage of knowledge is only of scientific importance, owing to the non-profitable nature of the deposit. IlmeniteMonazite: Beach sands containing ilmenite, monazite, zircon, thorianite and cerianite occur along the coast especially south of the Valapatnam river mouth, and also near Azhikode. Bauxite: Many occurrences of bauxite deposits have been brought to light in the district Madayi, Koram, Payyanur and Pattuvam near Taliparamba. These are not of high grade for direct extraction of the metal. They may find use in the manufacture of refractories and cement.
Shaji E & Pradeepkumar AP (Eds) 2014 Mineral Resources of Kerala Trivandrum: Dept of Geology Univ of Kerala ISBN 978-81-923449-0-4 80

Sughada Pradeep

Clay deposits in Ulloor area of Taliparamba taluk, Kannur, Kerala

Fig 2. Borehole locations in Taliparamba taluk, Kannur district, Kerala. Limeshell: Lime shells used for lime burning, manufacture of white cement and in the chemical industries are known to occur around Payyanur and Tellicherry, It is locally worked for the manufacture of lime. Lignite: Thin seams of lignite occur in the Tertiary sediments in the Cannanore coast and also in Kasargod Taluk, but these are not of any economic importance. Clay: The district is endowed with rich deposits of clay, widely distributed all over. The most importam localitie, where clays have been found are Pattuvam, Koram, Perumba, Karivellur, Vadakkumbad, Chervathur, Kadankotemalai, Chattoath, Nileshwar, Pudukkai, etc. The widespread occurrence of china clay will form a source of many clay based industries. Talc (Steatite): Minor bands of talc (steatite) rocks have been located in the district at Sreekantapuram, Pazhassi, Kuthuparamba, Kurumathur, Meruvambayi, Kilallur, Edayannur and Nalluru. Detailed investigations by the Geological Survey of India at Nalluru near Mattannur, followed by laboratory tests reveal the incompatability of talc to be used in the cosmetic industry. However expirimentation of talc from this locality as a micronutrient in agriculture has given promising results. The use of talc as filler will have to be determined. Other minerals located are sillimanite near Chadirurkunnu, graphite near Payyavur and Manakadav, and minor
Shaji E & Pradeepkumar AP (Eds) 2014 Mineral Resources of Kerala Trivandrum: Dept of Geology Univ of Kerala ISBN 978-81-923449-0-4 81

Sughada Pradeep

Clay deposits in Ulloor area of Taliparamba taluk, Kannur, Kerala

bands of iron ores near Cherukunnu Railway Station. Laterite is extensively quarried for building stones.

Method of Exploration
The exploration programme included detailed topographic survey and core drilling on a grid interval of 200 m. The exploration technique involves core drilling, logging of cores sampling and preparation of cross sections and computation of reserves. The quality of clay was tested by standard analytical methods for establishing the chemical composition, mineralogy and physical characteristics. After completion of drilling on 200 m interval at all the grid points it is proposed to execute close grid drilling at 100 and 50 m to delineate the most promising clay horizons.

Fig 3. Borehole litholog from groundlevel (0 m) to laterite/bauxite layer (18 m) in Taliparamba taluk, Kannur district, Kerala.

Fig 4. Claylaterite/bauxite ratio in the 13 boreholes of Taliparamba taluk, Kannur district, Kerala.
Shaji E & Pradeepkumar AP (Eds) 2014 Mineral Resources of Kerala Trivandrum: Dept of Geology Univ of Kerala ISBN 978-81-923449-0-4 82

Sughada Pradeep

Clay deposits in Ulloor area of Taliparamba taluk, Kannur, Kerala

Table 1. Thickness of clay (in m), lateritebauxite ratio and depth to bedrock (in m)
No. BH1 BH2 BH3 BH4 BH5 BH6 BH7 BH8 BH9 BH10 BH11 BH12 Clay 13 15 13 7.5 12.5 9 7.5 13.5 13 14 10.5 10 Laterite/Bauxite 3.75 6 5.1 4.5 3.2 3.5 4 2.5 5.5 1.5 8.2 5 Bed rock depth 29.5 33 27.5 24 23.5 25.5 25.5 25.5 27 24 24 20.5

BH13

6.5

17

Fig 5. Laterite/bauxite thickness in the 13 boreholes of Taliparamba taluk, Kannur district, Kerala. The following graph shows the bed rock depth. It varies from 15.5 m to 33 m.

Results
The lithology of this area mainly comprises Lateritic/Bauxitic overburden followed by Lateritic sandy clay, variegated clays of reddish, pinkish yellowish and grayish colour (Fig.3). The clay to laterite/bauxite ratio is 2.5:1 (Fig.4). An average of 4.5 m lateritic/bauxitic overburden is
Shaji E & Pradeepkumar AP (Eds) 2014 Mineral Resources of Kerala Trivandrum: Dept of Geology Univ of Kerala ISBN 978-81-923449-0-4 83

Sughada Pradeep

Clay deposits in Ulloor area of Taliparamba taluk, Kannur, Kerala

present and the clay thickness varies from 6.5 m to 15 m. (Fig.5) The average thickness of clay deposit in this area is 11 m. The area explored in Ulloor bhagom is 60 Hect. and the approximate reserve estimated from these area is around 13.20 million tonnes. Acknowledgements The author thanks the Director, Mining and Geology, Govt of Kerala, for giving permission to publish this paper. The Organizing Secretary of Mineralia2014, Dr E Shaji is thanked for inviting this contribution.

Shaji E & Pradeepkumar AP (Eds) 2014 Mineral Resources of Kerala Trivandrum: Dept of Geology Univ of Kerala ISBN 978-81-923449-0-4 84