minerals

Golconda Diamond was auctioned at a Record Price of 118 Crore Rupees

A rare 76 carat diamond named after the Austrian owner Archduke Joseph Augustthat was mined from the erstwhile Golconda Kingdom was auctioned on 14 November 2012 at a record price of Euros16.9 million or approximately 118 crore rupees at the auction, which was held at Geneva. The auction was held at Christie’s. The diamond has been described as the cushion shaped, internally flawless, of superb quality as well as colourless.

Christie’s International Jewellery Department said that this was the world record for the Golconda diamond and also the world record amount per carat for any colourless diamond. Black, Starr & Frost, the American jeweler sold this rare diamond. The buyer nevertheless is anonymous.

Archduke Joseph diamond has same heredity like the two other renowned diamonds- Hope and Koh-i-noor. These three diamonds have been mined from Kollur and Golconda mines.

Diamonds and Golconda

Golconda, diamonds as well as History of Hyderabad have had a special connection. Even though there were less of such diamonds mined, but they were still the best. Then these diamonds were brought to the city of Golconda, cut as well as marketed. Golconda was once the huge trading centre for gems as well as diamonds. Only India had such mines during those days and Europeans believed that diamonds could be found only in the Golconda mines. Diamonds extracted from the Golconda mines were so renowned that all those diamonds which did not have Nitrogen were referred to as Golconda Diamonds. Other well known diamonds of superior quality extracted from Golconda mines are Darya-e Nur, which is the largest one of 185 carats and also the finest one, the Regent, the Wittelsbach and Nur-Ul- Ain.

About the diamond

As per the Christie’s website, this diamond was passed as a legacy by Archduke to his son. Later, it was deposited in tomb of Hungarian General Credit Bank in 1933. It also resurfaced later in 1961 in London and consequently at the Geneva auction house of Christie in 1993. It was sold there for $6.48 million.

INDIA IS SELF SUFFICIENT IN THE SUPPLY AT THORIUM

URANIUM---JARKHAND AND MEGHALAYA
(JADUGUDA MINES)







Jodhpur, Jaisalmer and Bikaner of Rajasthan have been
centres of public protests for which among the following activities------]Marble Mining



ALUMINIUM PLANTS------KYON,KORBA


KHETRI
AGNIKUNDA
RAKHA
MALANJHAND







RUHR REGION OF GERMANY IS FAMOUS OF COAL




URANIUM-----CANADA
BAUXITE----AUSTRALIA
SALT-----USA
SILVER--------MEXICO









ZAWAR MINE IS FAMOUS FOR SILVER


RAJASTHAN LARGEST PRODUCER OF GYPSUM

LARGEST RESERVE OF BAUXITE FOUND IN ORISSA



INDIA IS LARGEST PRODUCER OF MICA



LARGEST COAL MINE----JARIA


GUA FAMOUS IN IRON ORE MINE


WHITE COAL IS URANIUM



INDIA'S FIRST STEEL FACTORY ESTABLISHED IN BURNPUR


coal----carbon content------anthracite 90%, bituminous 80%, lignite 70%, peat 60%




Record increase in India’s Coal import, touches 80-85 million tones
Import of thermal coal is estimated to surge to 80-85 million tonnes with NTPC likely to account 1/5th of the total
projected imports during 2012-13. It is a 60 % increase than the 50 million tonnes coal imported during 2011-12.
Coal India Limited (CIL) will provide 80 % of the annual contracted quantity to its consumers. Out of this, 65 % will be
fulfilled by its own production and the remaining 15% will be imported.
The Central Electricity Authority (CEA), despite stiff opposition from the coal producing states of Jharkhand, East
Bengal and Orissa, has sketched a “Coal pool pricing” strategy for implementation. The CEA has suggested for
centralized imports by CIL, and projected that about 1.05 lakh MW capacity would blend imported coal.
Power plants using imported coal would have to pay a bit higher price for its use. As per CEA projections, coal prices
Current Affairs Published on www.gktoday.in from January 1, 2012 to
September 10, 2012
will surge by at least Rs.105 per tonne, leading to a increase of 6-7 paise [per unit] in power tariff. As per estimations,
coal imports and pool pricing will provide 80 % supply to power plants.








India’s Chrome ore production sufficient to meet demand
Government held that India’s production of Chrome ore is sufficient to meet domestic consumption and exports and
the export of chrome ore is not directly impacting the steel industry. Further, there are no proposals to completely ban
the export of chrome ore.
India has 203 million tons of chrome ore. Out of this only 54 million tons are reserved.





Production begins in AP’s first uranium mine ‘Thummalapalli’
Production commenced in the first uranium mining and processing plant of Andhra Pradesh, at Thummalapalli in YSR
District.
About the new plant:
 Capacity of mining and processing: 3,000 tonnes uranium a day.
 Reserves: With over 48 million tonnes of reserves, theThummalapalli mine has been
estimated one of the world’s largest uranium mines.
 Cost: The new plant is built at a cost of over Rs 1,100 Crore.
Built on 900 hectares of land, this new plant will furnish a major boost India’s much needed
uranium fuel for nuclear programme.
The Tummalapalle Mine is a uranium mine in Tumalapalli village located in Kadapa of the
Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. Results from a research conducted by the Atomic Energy
Commission of India in 2011 made the analysts conclude that this mine might have one of the largest reserves of
uranium in the world. This finding substantially increased India’s capability of producing energy from nuclear plants. As
of 2011, India was producing about 3% of its energy from nuclear plants. These findings suggest that this output can be
increased to more than 30% by 2050. This domestic uranium find would not only boost India’s nuclear energy plans
but also help to reduce costs by switching from expensive sources of power like coal.






minerals
NHRC issues Notices to states, Ministries for banning use of Asbestos
NHRC (National Human Rights Commission) issued notices to all states and
several Union Ministries on banning the use of white asbestos
It asked them to file a status report on it within 4 weeks
Reason for Action: NHRC took into consideration a complaint alleging that
around 50,000 people die every year in the country due to asbestos related
cancer
The complainant Gopal Krishna of Toxics Watch Alliance sought NHRC's
intervention for a ban on the use of White asbestos, which is dangerous for
the health and causes a variety of deadly diseases
The appellant also requested for grant of compensation package for present
and future victims of asbestos related diseases
Some facts about White Asbestos:-
White asbestos: A Chrysotile Asbestos , a fibrous material used for
building roofs and walls
Chrysotile is the most common form of Asbestos
Chrysotile / White Asbestos has been recommended for inclusion in
the Rotterdam Convention on Prior Informed Consent
If listed in Rotterdam Convention, exports of Chrysotile would only
be permitted to countries that explicitly consent to imports
Rotterdam Convention: It is an international treaty that restricts the
global trade in hazardous materials