News: Gold deposits found in Andhra, Tamil Nadu

(BS 06/08/2006) Chennai/Trichy - The Geological Survey of India (GSI) is in the process of collecting data pertaining to the mineral wealth across the country.

V V Rao, deputy director general of GSI, Kolkata, said that the mineral inventory, developed by GSI in coordination with the Indian Bureau of Minerals, would be useful in drafting a mineral-based industries blue print for the country.

According to the inventory, iron ore to the extent of 27 billion tonnes is available across the country. The states that has iron ore deposits include Orissa, Chhattishgarh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and in small traces in Tamil Nadu.

He said that gold deposits were found in small quantities in the states like Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh and GSI was working on the exploration studies.

Of the 2,000 billion tonnes of coal available, a major chunk was of thermal grade which is useful in thermal power stations. The deposits were found in Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattishgarh, Jharkhand and West Bengal.

In Tamil Nadu, the availability of lignite coal to the tune of 2,000 million tonnes had been confirmed, Rao said. Rich sources of bauxite, useful for extraction of aluminum metal, were also found along the east coast, in the states like Orissa and Andhra Pradesh.

Rao said that the Centre had asked the GSI to make a detailed survey on the availability of diamond beneath the Indian soil. GSI was in the process of conducting preparatory studies and analysis regarding this. GSI would recruit 100 geologists every year for the projects undertaken by it, he added.