Xenotime Placers in Parts of Mahan River Basin, Surguja District, Madhya Pradesh

Several inland placers containing commercially viable resources of xenotime have been described from the Chhotanagpur granite gneiss terrain of Gumla district, Bihar and Raigarh district, M.P. Recent surveys in the adjoining western sector of Surguja district, have confirmed xenotime as a significant minor constituent (3-5 %) in the heavy mineral assemblages (1-4 %) of the various tributaries , of Mahan river.

The assemblage is typical characteristic of a granite migmatitic provenance. Geomorphologically, few of these occurrences are developed over limited extents as poorly sorted sediments in low order, less mature streams having steeper slope and smaller depth with an insignificant flood plain development. Mineralogically, the heavy mineral assemblages consist of ilmenite ± garnet (10-40 Wt%) with monazite (40-70 Wt%), zircon (10-20 Wt%) and magnetite (traces to 5 Wt%). A few of these placers are being investigated as potential sources for Yttrium as their heavy mineral suites, quantitatively, have a higher total content of xenotime and nronazite for upgradation to a marketable product acceptable to the chemical industry.