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The discovery process for this huge Indian deposit was accidentally initiated in the year 1909 when C. W. Schomberg, a German chemist, identified the presence of monazite in the sand remnants of contaminants of coir imported from Kerala. [4]
Monazite sand was also briefly mined in North Carolina, but, shortly thereafter, extensive deposits in southern India were found. Brazilian and Indian monazite dominated the industry before World War II, after which major mining activity transferred to South Africa .
This plant, the first unit of IREL, was made operational way back in 1952 for processing of monazite, whose capacity was subsequently increased by about three times.Rare Earths Division (RED), Udyogamandal, Aluva is located on the banks of Periyar River in Kerala at a distance of 12 km from the port city of Kochi and 15 km from Kochi International Airport.
Karunagappalli is known for high background radiation from thorium-containing monazite sand. In some coastal panchayats, median outdoor radiation levels are more than 4 mGy/yr and, in certain locations on the coast, it is as high as 70 mGy/yr. [5]
[14] [15] Minerals including Ilmenite, Monazite, Thorium, and Titanium, are found in the coastal belt of Kerala. [16] Kerala's coastal belt of Karunagappally is known for high background radiation from thorium -containing monazite sand.
The coasts of Tamil Nadu and Kerala have beach sand deposits of various minerals such as illmenite, zircon, rutile, garnet, sillimanite, leucoxene, and monazite.From 1993 onwards, private firms were granted permission to mine beach sand and were allowed to mine the minerals- sillimanite and garnet.
Monazite powder, a rare earth and thorium phosphate mineral, is the primary source of the world's thorium. India's three-stage nuclear power programme was formulated by Homi Bhabha, the well-known physicist, in the 1950s to secure the country's long term energy independence, through the use of uranium and thorium reserves found in the monazite sands of coastal regions of South India.
Moreover, monazite contains many other rare metals such as cerium, lanthanum, praseodymium, and samarium, making it a critical source of renewable energy. [26] Recycled magnets can also be derived from these minerals due to the metals they contain. [25] Monazite sand and deposits for mining are found in India, Brazil, and Australia. [27]