Beneficiation of low grade graphites of Palamau district

Graphite occurs in a number of states in India but the present production comes mainly from Orissa and Andhra Pradesh. Only the high grade deposits are being worked out without paying much attention to the low grade ones. Extensive low grade graphite deposits occur in the Palamau region of Bihar. This paper deals with the beneficiation studies carried out at NML on a few samples from the area. An attempt has been made to present briefly, the texural characteristics and the mode of beneficiation of some of the low grade graphite samples. The need for beneficiation and the R&D facilities available at NML for undertaking such projects have also been discussed in this paper. (Shri M.V. Ranganathan, Scientist, Shri D.M. Chakravarty, Scientist and Shri N. Chakravarty, Scientist; National Metallurgical Laboratory)