Abstract
India has a high demand for refractory minerals. Sillimanite is one of the minerals having high refractory characteristics. In this paper, the availability of sillimanite along the coastal belt of Orissa coast and its laboratory beneficiation tests are discussed. The results indicate that +0.5 mm contain shell, 2.8 s.g. floats contain quartz, magnetic heavies contain ilmenite and garnet and the non—magnetic heavies contain mainly sillimanite. The raw sand contains 4% sillimanite and the preconcentrated non—magnetic heavies contain 55 to 65% sillimanite. This product after flotation is suitable for industrial use.