The gold deposits found in Sonbhadra Districts of U.P: The Geological Survey of India (GSI) has discovered gold deposits to the tune of around 3,000 tonnes in Sonbhadra district of Uttar Pradesh, almost five times India’s current reserve of the yellow metal, officials said on Friday (February 21). The Geological Survey of India (GSI) has discovered gold deposits to the tune of around 3,000 tonnes in Sonbhadra district of Uttar Pradesh, almost five times India’s current reserve of the yellow metal, officials said on Friday (February 21).
The gold deposits were found in Son Pahadi and Hardi areas here, district mining officer K K Rai said.
Work on finding gold reserves in Sonbhadra was started almost two decades back in 1992-93 by the Geological Survey of India, he said, adding that auctioning of these blocks through e-tendering would start soon. The deposits in Son Pahadi is estimated to be around 2,943.26 tonnes, while that at Hardi block is around 646.16 kilogram, the official said.
If these estimates turn out to be true, India will have the highest gold reserve after the United States. According to the World Gold Council, the US has 8,133.5 tonnes of gold, followed by Germany with 3,366 tonnes, and the International Monetary Fund with 2,814 tonnes. Besides gold, some other minerals have also been found in the area, Rai added.
Though the presence of gold ore in the region was well known, even to the British, it was only in the 90s that studies began there to ascertain the presence of the shining metal. after the gold presence was confirmed, the Uttar Pradesh government has constituted a seven-member team for auctioning of these blocks through the e-tender process. The team will be geo-tagging the entire region and will submit its report to the Directorate of Geology and Mining. “Government is thinking of putting these deposits on lease for mining, for which survey is being done” KK Rai, District Mining Officer of Sonbhadra had said on Thursday.
Officials also believe that the area could be holding other valuable rare minerals like uranium. An areal survey of the area is being carried out to identify the presence of other minerals.
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 ₹12 lakh crore.
The British reportedly were the first to initiate the process of finding gold reserves in Sonbhadra region, which is more in news for being a Naxalism-hit area. Interestingly, Sonbhadra – the second largest district of Uttar Pradesh – is the only district in the country which shares borders with four states – Madhya Pradesh to the west, Chhattishgarh to the south, Jharkhand to the south-east and Bihar to the east.
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