A Comparative Analysis of Laterite Index and a Novel Laterite Index to Improve Detection of Lateritic Bauxite in the Eastern Ghats of Odisha, India using Sentinel 2A Data

Aim: The principal aim of this research study is to identify and evaluate the bauxite mineral availability in the area of the Eastern ghats of Odisha, which partly includes 3 states namely Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu. This study compares the mineral content derived from two indices namely, laterite index and a novel laterite index. Materials and Methods: Remotely-sensed satellite images from Sentinel 2A for the years 2021 and 2022 were used. After pre-processing, bauxite indices using laterite index and novel laterite index were derived. Indices from a sample of 50 pixels were then used as input for SPSS. A total of 50 pixels samples for each index were extracted from the index image. Results: Here, the data was developed by creating two distinct indices, one from the laterite formula's original formula and the other from a Novel Lateritic Index formula. Based on this data, an independent samples-t-test was conducted using statistical software, and it was found that a significance value of 0.000 is obtained $(\mathrm{p} < 0.05)$. Therefore, there is a statistically significant difference between the two groups used in the study. It has been noted that the standard deviation is 0.14741 and the average mean difference is 1.20216. Conclusion: According to the study performed using data and aforementioned procedure with due consideration for the results produced, the area of the Odisha Eastern Ghats exhibits a discernible bauxite mineral zone. As a result, bauxite was identified by SNAP 9.0 using Sentinel 2A from ESA Copernicus data.