ABSTRACT
A good number of placer deposits have been discovered in the southeastern coastal belt of Bangladesh containing 22% total heavy minerals (THM). Some 40% of the THM constitutes valuable components, amounting altogether to about two million tonnes (2 Mt), comprising ilmenite (1.025 Mt), garnet (223 Kt), zircon (158 Kt), leucoxene (97 Kt), kyanite (91 Kt), rutile (70 Kt), magnetite (81 kt), and monazite (17 Kt). The average content of the economic heavy minerals in THM is zircon 4.00%, rutile 2.04%, ilmenite 26.03%, garnet 6.19%, kyanite 3.42%, leucoxene 2.37%, magnetite 1.86%, and monazite 0.31%. Processing of the bulk samples was carried out using gravity, magnetic, and electrostatic separation. Ilmenite contains lower titanium dioxide (43–45%) compared to high industrial grade. This ilmenite is suitable for the production of titania slag and pig iron. ZrO2 in zircon is around 65% which is satisfactory in respect to commercial grade. The mineral chemistry of magnetite, garnet, rutile and leucoxene satisfy industrial requirements. Resource of heavy mineral placers is available in the Brahmaputra-Jamuna River Basin where THM concentration is 8.92% having the presence of 146 Mt of inferred resource of economic minerals. THM grade of coastal and fluvial placer deposits is considered satisfactory by mineral sands industry standards.
