Economic analysis of exporting Indian Sandstone
January 13, 2022 AdminIndia has long been considered one of the top countries for mineral production. There are several large mineral deposits spread all across the country. Some of the commonly found natural stones here are Granite, Marble, Limestone, Sandstone, Rhyolite, Quartzite, Gneiss, Basalt, Porphyry, Slate, and several other stones. They are sorted on the basis of their specific availability in the different regions of India. In this post, let’s do an economic analysis of Indian Sandstone.
Indian Sandstone is used in a wide range of applications like flooring, wall cladding, monuments, countertops, slabs, blocks, sculptures, pebbles, cobbles, and others. There is a greater abundance of sandstone in India. There are many natural stone suppliers in India that manufacture and supply high-quality Indian sandstone to other countries.
Geology of Indian Sandstone
The Sandstone refers to a clastic sedimentary rock that takes shape after the admission and solidification of clastic materials in a sedimentary basin. It is made up mainly of sand (0.0625 to 2 mm in size) particles or rock waste of pre-medieval rocks post their erosion and weathering.
Most sandstones are made up of quartz along with some other additional minerals that exhibit some kind of weathering resistance. The sandstone comes in a wide variety of hues due to the impurities present within it. The commonly found colors of Indian sandstone are tan, red, yellow, brown, pink, grey, black, white, etc.
As the sandstone rock is brittle. its beds are often formed by extremely observable cliffs & other choreography features. They can easily be determined by specific colors of the sandstone in diverse regions.
The rock structures made of sandstone generally enable water percolation. It is absorbent enough to permit the liquids to go through or to store in bigger quantities and hence making those valued aquifers and gasoline basins. The finely-grained sandstones are better able to eliminate various pollutants present in the water than are stones with bangs and fissures, like limestone or other rocks cracked by seismic processes.
Indian Sandstone Deposits in India
Indian sandstone rocks are mainly found in nearly all geologic formations. The Precambrian rocks are not rich in sandstone. This is because all the rocks of this period are metamorphosed while the sandstone rock belongs to the sedimentary category.
Presently extracted as quartzite, the sandstones are also durable stones. Most Indian sandstone varieties lie in the Vindhyan Supergroup and in the Marwar Supergroup.
India’s sandstone mining sector employs roughly 3 at present. This accounts for nearly 90 % of India’s sandstone production happening in the state of Rajasthan.
The sandstone is typically found in the states of Assam, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Orissa, Tamil Nadu, and others. More than 90% of the feasible reserves of sandstone are present in Rajasthan, extended over several regions. They include Dholpur, Jhalawar, Bharatpur, Sawai-Madhopur Kota, Chittorgarh Karauli, Bundi, Bikaner, Jodhpur, Jaisalmer, and Nagaur.
Some of the widely exported sandstone varieties are Kandla Grey Sandstone, Modak Sandstone, Agra Red Sandstone, Camel Dust Sandstone, Sagar Black Sandstone, Autumn Brown, and others.
Export to Indian Sandstone To Other Countries
In the year 2020, the total value of sandstone export from India was $135 million.
However, the total value of imports of commodity sector 2516 (Granite, porphyry, basalt, sandstone, and other monumental or dimension stone, whether or not coarsely trimmed or just cut, by sawing or else, into blocks or slabs of a rectangular (including square) shape. The sale of the commodity sector to India was reduced by 29% in its value in 2019.
Sandstone Exports from India to the UK
Nearly 57.43 USD million worth of Indian sandstone was exported to the UK in FY 2020-2021. It was roughly 62.34% of the total export of this natural stone.
Sandstone Exports from India to the USA
The export of sandstone from India to the USA has almost doubled between the FY of 2014-15 and 2018-19. It grew from US$ 7.35 million to US$ 16.78 million in just 5 years. Accordingly, the portion of the US (as a destination) in India’s total sandstone export has got up from 5.26 % in 2014-15 to 8.62 % in 2018-19.
The United States of America is ranked at 4th position on the list of top Indian sandstone importers. This refers to a total import of 97 million pounds worth US$ 16.7 million in 2018-19.
Below is the annual trade value of Group 2516 (Granite, porphyry, basalt, sandstone, and other monumental or dimension stone).
The biggest importer of Indian Sandstone is the United Kingdom (UK). Other countries on the list of sandstone importers are France, Germany, Canada, Belgium, Italy, and UAE.
There are primarily 9 countries along with some other nations that purchase Indian sandstone. Major importing countries are the USA, UK, Australia, Belgium, Italy, Canada, Germany, UAE, and France.
