The year 2020 is proving to be a great year for India as far as finding precious earth elements like lithium earlier and now a huge reserve of the Gold reserve is concerned.
In a significant find, the Geological Survey of India has discovered gold deposits estimated to be around 3,350 tonnes and worth Rs 12 lakh crore in Sonbhadra district of Uttar Pradesh.
Update: GSI has countered the claim from the district mining officer and said no such discovery has been made.
New Deposits are five times India’s current reserve of gold
It’s almost five times India’s current reserve of the precious yellow metal. The gold deposits were found in Son Pahadi and Hardi areas here, district mining officer KK Rai said on Friday.
Work on finding gold reserves in Sonbhadra was started almost decades back in 1992-93 by the Geological Survey of India (GSI), he said, adding that auctioning of these blocks through e-tendering would start soon.
Even before the GSI, the British reportedly were the first to initiate the process of finding gold reserves in the Sonbhadra region, which is a known Naxalism-affected area and one of the most backward districts in UP.
Interestingly, Sonbhadra – the second largest district of Uttar Pradesh – is the only district in the country which shares its borders with four states – Madhya Pradesh to the west, Chhattishgarh to the south, Jharkhand to the south-east and Bihar to the east.
As per the World Gold Council, India currently has 626 tonnes of gold reserves. The new reserves are almost five times that amount and estimated to be worth nearly Rs 12 lakh crore.
Easy to dig mines and auction process
There is also a strong possibility of the presence of other precious minerals, including uranium, in the hills of the region.
According to officials, a seven-member team tasked with geo-tagging and mapping goldmine areas visited Sonbhadra on February 20. Officials claimed that the mineral-rich mines of Sonbhadra are easy to dig give their geographical position as they are mostly situated on hillocks.
The officials believe that the government will begin the auction process once compensation payout and necessary approvals are granted. Apart from gold, officials are exploring the possibility of unearthing rare minerals like uranium in the area.
Extensive exploration still underway in the area
The geophysical survey is still underway in many parts of the district by helicopter. Advanced electromagnetic and spectrometer devices are being used in the survey.
Part of these instruments hangs under the helicopter which conducts a flying survey at an altitude of 60-80 meters above the ground surface.
The discovery of the two mines is expected to give a considerable boost to the state’s revenue. With a huge potential of providing skilled and unskilled employment to locals.
It will also lead to much-needed development of backward regions in the two districts.
