Response

(i) The exploitation of various heavy minerals along the coastal sands of Odisha, is based on wet methods/dredging for more than a decade. This is not the most optimum technique, if the mineralized zones are irregular and discontinuous/heterogeneously distributed, as observed in the present study area. The social and environmental impact in coastal zones or 'riverine places' like Odisha and Andhra Pradesh coast, makes it less efficient compared to other methods being used throughout the world (for similar deposits), like mobile methods with a smaller (environmental) footprint.