The important minerals that occur in the CRZ in our state are monazite, beach sands, silica sand, foundry sand, oil and natural gas. These occur along the coast in beach sands and inter tidal zones. Lime- shell and gypsum occur in Pulicat lake in Nellore district. At present there is no mining activity, of monazite, beach sand, silica sand, foundry sand etc. Oil exploration is being carried out by ONGC in on-shore and off-shore areas of East Godavari, West Godavari, Krishna and Nellore districts. At present exploration of lime-shell and gypsum from Pulicat lake is prohibited as it has been notified as a bird sanctuary.