JNARDDC has evaluated bauxite deposits of India from the geo-technological point of view. During the evaluation studies, it was observed that bauxite deposits are associated with saprolite resources. During bauxite mining, various low-grade materials such as saprolite, laterite and low-grade bauxite are generated. These materials typically have low-alumina, high-iron oxide and high-silica content. Owing to their inferior quality, these materials cannot be used for alumina production and hence remain unutilized at the mine site. For the present study, the saprolite samples were collected from the Western Ghats bauxite deposits in India. The sintering studies were conducted on saprolite granules using a variety of parameters. The sintered granules were characterized, and their properties determined. The test results showed that bulk density, apparent density, porosity and refractoriness (PCE 1645–1659 °C) of the aggregates were within the range of refractory specifications. The feasibility tests carried out at the refractory industry indicated that the developed aggregates are suitable as refractory material and can substitute for calcined clay. Currently, high-purity clay resources used in the refractory industry are limited and fast exhausting; therefore, the industry is likely to face an acute shortage of raw materials, which will become more critical in the future. Therefore the sintered granules (aggregates) developed from saprolite, which is a mining waste, provide a low-cost, eco-friendly solution for the fast-exhausting resources of the high-purity clays. The developed process may change the Indian bauxite mining scenario because saprolite may substitute as a potential raw material for the refractory industry.

JNARDDC从地质技术的角度评估了印度的铝土矿矿床。在评估研究中，观察到铝土矿沉积物与腐泥土资源有关。在铝土矿开采过程中，会生成各种低品位材料，如腐泥土，红土和低品位铝土矿。这些材料通常具有低氧化铝，高氧化铁和高二氧化硅含量。由于它们的劣质，这些材料不能用于氧化铝生产，因此在矿场仍未被利用。对于本研究，腐泥土样品是从印度的Western Ghats铝土矿矿床中收集的。使用多种参数对腐泥土颗粒进行了烧结研究。对烧结的颗粒进行表征，并确定其性能。测试结果表明，堆积密度，骨料的表观密度，孔隙率和耐火度（PCE 1645–1659°C）在耐火规格范围内。在耐火材料行业进行的可行性测试表明，开发的骨料适合用作耐火材料，可以代替煅烧粘土。当前，耐火工业中使用的高纯度粘土资源有限且消耗快。因此，该行业很可能会面临原材料的严重短缺，这在未来将变得更加关键。因此，由作为采矿废料的腐泥土开发的烧结颗粒（集料）为高纯度粘土的快速消耗资源提供了一种低成本，环保的解决方案。