HomeHeadlinesIndia set to mine Uranium ore from Rohili mines in Rajasthan

India set to mine Uranium ore from Rohili mines in Rajasthan

India’s plan to become self-sufficient in nuclear fuel production

The deposit, spread across 22 hectares of land in the Aravalli ranges in Rajasthan, is estimated to yield 10,000 tons of uranium ore to fuel India’s nuclear reactors.

New Delhi: 

In a major boost towards realizing India’s ambitions to become self-sufficient in nuclear fuel production, the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) is all set to start the country’s fourth uranium ore project.

According to sources, the DAE is gearing up to mine uranium ore discovered at the Rohili in Rajasthan’s Sikar district. 

The deposit is estimated at 10,000 tones, is spread across 22 hectares of land in the Royal village of Khandela district. The Rohili project is expected to yield uranium ore for over two decades, making it the fourth largest in the country after Tummalapalle, Chitrial and Peddagattu extension in Andhra Pradesh.

The Uranium Corporation of India Limited (UCIL), is currently working on war-footing to construct new tunnel shafts to source out the uranium ore. The UCIL plans to automate all strenuous mining activities, avoiding direct handling of radioactive ore at every stage of operation. The uranium ore sourced from Rohili will be taken to National Fuel Complex for further processing. 

The preliminary site report indicates that the UCIL plans to dig tunnels almost 400 feet below the marked region, pocketed around the Royal and Suhagpura villages. The tunnels are expected to be 1 kilometer in length, and six-meter in width. The tunnel work is estimated to take around 22 months to complete, with each tunnel costing around Rs 6 crore. While advanced equipment is been rolled in to start the tunneling work, the UCIL is readying a Detailed Project Report (DPR) to execute the other portions of the operation. The entire Rohili project is estimated to cost around Rs 6,000 crore. 

Repeated attempts were made to contact officials at UCIL, DAE to gain formal statements on the development. However, no officials were reported to be available for comments. 

Rohili Uranium Mining Project

According to a report published on the website of UCIL, the Rohili area comes under the ‘North Delhi Fold Belt’ region. The first reports of traces of uranium and other mineral deposits from the Aravalli mountain ranges of the area came in 1998. This prompted UCIL to initiate further explorations from 1999. However, it was in 2009, that the UCIL wrote, ‘the steeply dipping ore body in the albitite host rock already identified up to a depth of 100 meter holds the promise of a deep underground mine (of uranium).  

In 2012, the then Atomic Energy Commission Chairman RK Sinha was quoted saying that the discovery of uranium ore in Sikar was still only an initial find and the department requiring more extensive surveys to ascertain the actual width and depth of the field spread.

India’s Uranium Hunt

The uranium mining in the country began with the formation of the UCIL in  1967  under the DAE. Since then, the uranium industry of the country has recorded phenomenal growth in the production and up-gradation of technology. The UCIL launched its operation with the commissioning of an underground mine and ore processing plant at Jaduguda in 1968.  In the following years, the government commissioned underground mines at Bhatin in 1987, Narwapahar in 1995, and Turamdih in 2003.    

Uranium Resources 

The country has access to uranium imports from foreign and 14 reactors of the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL). With a total installed capacity of 4380MWe, they are currently operating on imported fuel. The rest of the eight ‘out of safeguards’ reactors in NPCIL’s fleet, with a total capacity of 2400MWe, are being fuelled with domestically mined uranium. 

According to sources, the DAE’s Atomic Minerals Directorate for Exploration and Research (AMDER) continues to carry out extensive radiometric, geochemical and geophysical surveys across India to scour for new uranium deposits. The newest discoveries of possible uranium mine sites are in Naktu, Uttar Pradesh and potential deposits in Betul, Madhya Pradesh. 

Kunal Chonkar
Kunal Chonkar
Worked in the national and international news industry for over 12 years, with extensive experience covering breaking news, diplomatic reporting, conflict and natural disasters. Has specialist knowledge and experience of Asian affairs. Proven track record of working with international missions and national government in his role as a media advisor, and political strategist. He holds a post-graduate degree in International Relations, and Sociology.

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