Remote sensing exploration of Fullerene bearing Shungite in Mangampet baryte mines, India

Abstract The fullerene (C60) is economically significant due to its significant applications in diverse areas like nanochemistry, superconductivity, materials science, etc. The carbon allotrope fullerene C60 and C70 are identified within the thick sequence of black carbonaceous units belonging to the shungite suite of rock at the baryte mine, Mangampet, Andhra Pradesh. Since this is the first of its kind from India's geological material, the exploration of fullerenes enriched barytes from the mines at Mangampet in the Kadapa district is essential. In the present study, remote sensing techniques such as hyperspectral analysis followed by Support Vector Machine (SVM), and Principal Component Analysis (PCA) were used for exploring the presence of fullerene bearing baryte deposits in the Mangampet mine. The detailed characterisation of structure and chemistry of the baryte samples were carried out using techniques like Energy Dispersive X-ray Fluorescence (EDXRF), X-ray Powder Diffraction (XRD), X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS), and Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) techniques. The High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) and Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization (MALDI) mass spectrometry analyses confirm fullerene presence in baryte deposits. The retention time at 11.783-11.822 min obtained from HPLC and high-intensity rate m/z at 720.178 obtained from MALDI spectra suggest fullerene in baryte mine deposits. The remote sensing exploration of fullerene bearing shungite suite of rocks in baryte mineral deposits of Mangampet mine has opened up new research areas for converting this material into value-added products.