ATOMIC MINERALS DIRECTORATE FOR EXPLORATION AND RESEARCH

General Information

The Region was set up during 1958 as Western Region in a rented accommodation at Nagpur and divided during 1988 into Western Region-I with headquarter at Nagpur and Western Region-II with headquarter at Baroda (now Vadodara). With the closure of Western Region-II at Vadodara, the Region was subsequently named as Central Region and the office and laboratories were moved into own premises during 1994. The Region has residential quarters catering to the requirement of officers and staff.

Broad Geological Features

Broadly the following geological domains occupy larger parts of Central Region.

(i) Archaean to Lower Proterozoic basement craton including Proterozoic granites of 2.2-2.5 b.y. age (Bundelhkhand, Dongargarh and Malanjhkhand granites). Late Archaean to Early Proterozoic sediments are  bounded by rift zones/ mobile belts,  which are metamorphosed to  greenschist facies. High-grade mobile belts related to lithospheric development, are characterized by  high grade rocks of granulitic to amphibolite facies extending  from eastern Madhya Pradesh to Chhotanagpur Plateau and are covered by younger sediments. Other groups of Lower Proterozoic rocks represent highly deformed volcano sedimentary sequences. Proterozoic Supracrustal belts of Kotri-Dongargarh Supergroup, Sakoli Group, Sausar Group located on the west central part of Bastar craton and Mahakoshal Group form important tectono-metamorphic units.

(ii)Middle to Upper Proterozoic rift related sedimentary basins: These were formed as a continental anorogenic environment related to extensional tectonic regime and include the following basins e.g. Abujhmar, Khairagarh, Indravati, Chhattisgarh, Khariar, Ampani etc. Proterozoic basins which host major Unconformity Related Deposits world over have extensively developed in Central India and nine out of fourteen such basins come under Central Region.

(iii) Gondwana sediments of Palaeozoic-Mesozoic Era, which were deposited in intracratonic-rifted basins, occupy large parts of Central Region.

(iv) Deccan traps of Mesozoic Era: They occupy nearly 60% of the area of the Region.

Summary of Investigations: Important Finds:

A major part of radiometric survey was confined to Proterozoic supracrustals and the crystallines. Some of the uranium deposits identified are :

Bodal: It is located in the Rajnandgaon district of Madhya Pradesh.The host rocks are Proterozoic bi-modal volcanics. It is a vein type of uranium deposit established over a strike length of 1000m with a vertical depth upto 400m.

Jajawal: It is located in the Surguja district of Madhya Pradesh. The host rocks are Proterozoic crystallines. It is a vein type of uranium deposit established in two sectors for 300m (Central sector) and 485m (Western sector) upto a maximum vertical depth of  400m.

Other smaller uranium deposits identified are as follows.

Investigations in the Gondwana basins have resulted in locating uranium shows at  few  places e.g.  Lalbarra (Mandla district, Madhya Pradesh), Polapather (Betul district, Madhya Pradesh). Although exploratory drilling was carried out in these places, no tangible resources of uranium could be established so far in the Gondwana basins of Central India. 

Apart from uranium, surveys for Rare Metal and Rare Earth (RMRE) bearing minerals have resulted in identifying a rich source of xenotime (a yttrium phosphate mineral containing heavy rare earths) in the riverine placers of Siri River, Raigarh district, Madhya Pradesh and Nb-Ta occurrences in pegmatites at Mundwal, Bodenar, Challanpara in Bastar district, Chhattisgarh and Pandikimal-Jangapara in Jharsuguda district, Orissa. These minerals have been / are being recovered on a small scale from these occurrences.

Present Thrust areas of Investigations

Since there are a number of Middle Proterozoic basins having unconformable contact with the Lower Proterozoic / Archaean basement, they are considered potential locales for unconformity related uranium occurrences. With this concept in the backdrop, Indravati and Chhattisgarh basins have been taken up for intensive investigations.

Other facilities available at Central Region

Ground Calibration Pads for Gamma ray spectrometers

An unique facility, the only one of its kind in India, was established by AMD in the civil airport at Nagpur for calibrating gamma ray spectrometers both for airborne surveys and ground surveys. This facility has been constructed wholly indigenously, as per the specifications of IAEA and is serving as a 'national facility' for calibration of radiometric instruments by various organisations of the country as well as for universities.

Analytical laboratories

The Region is equipped with

• Physics Laboratory
• Chemistry Laboratory
• Petrology Laboratory
• WDXRF Laboratory 
• Mineral Processing