'Black gold' in Kollam! crores worth of black sand found during excavation for national highway

CHAVARA: During excavation at the Neendakara area for the construction of a drain as part of the development of the national highway, the presence of mineral-rich black sand was found. The KMML officials approached the district administration to release this sand for treatment.

The presence of black sand stretches over a distance of five kilometers from Neendakara Bridge to Edappallikkotta. The land adjacent to this area is included in the first mining block of KMML.

KMML has approached the Revenue Department seeking permission to start mining on 83 acres of this area. Meanwhile, a large amount of black sand has been found on the road adjacent to it.

Crores lying on the ground!

Land in these areas is acquired by KMML and IRE for mining by compensating the landowners. It also costs a lot of money to restore it later. A large quantity of black sand is obtained by both the companies through the construction of national highways without any such expenditure. At present only black sand is taken from the excavation sites for the construction of drains and culverts. However, there is a strong demand to collect the maximum amount of black sand from the site where the six-lane road will be constructed. The preliminary estimate is that at least two crores worth of black sand will be obtained from the area dug for drains alone.

White sand for black sand

KMML has put forward a proposal that after collecting sand containing black sand, they can give processed white sand to the company for the construction of the national highway. Elements such as ilmenite, zircon and sillimanite will be extracted by KMML. The monocyte is then given to IRE for isolation. IRE has also started trying to extract black sand.