Bhubaneswar: Gold reserves have been discovered in some districts of Odisha informed Minister of Steel, Mines and Work Bibhuti Bhusan Jena in the Odisha Assembly on Thursday.
In response to an unstarred question by Congress MLA Tara Prasad Bahinipati, Steel and Mines Minister Bibhuti Bhushan Jena informed that gold deposits have been discovered in the Gopur-Gazipur area of ​​Keonjhar district and surveys are underway at Mankadchuan, Salekana and Dimirimunda areas.
Similarly, gold reserves have been found at Jashipur, Suriaguda, Ruansi, Idelkucha, Maredihi, Sulaipat and Badampahad areas of the Mayurbhanj district.
Also, gold reserves have been found in some places in Sundergarh, Nabarangpur, Angul, Koraput, Malkangiri, Sambalpur, and Boudh districts.
The gold deposits were discovered by the Geological Survey of India at the G-2 level in the Rampalli area of ​​Deogarh district in the state. According to geological data, there is gold reserved in these areas and the process for auction of these mineral blocks is underway.
Based on the information obtained from the preliminary survey in the Gopur-Gazipur area of ​​Keonjhar district identified in 1981-83 and 1989-96, a resurvey is being conducted from 2021-2022 at the G-2 level in collaboration with the Geological Survey of India and the Directorate of Mines and Geology. As the quality and quantity of these ores have not been determined, there is currently no official plan for extraction or processing.
The minister said that survey work is going on to identify gold reserves at the G-4 and G-3 levels by Odisha Mining Corporation in Mankadchuan, Salekana, and Dimirimunda areas.
An initial survey for gold deposits is underway by the State Directorate of Mines and Geology and the Geological Survey of India. In addition to this, there are reports of scattered gold in some places of Sundergarh, Nabarangpur, Angul, Koraput, Malkangiri, Sambalpur, and Boudh districts which have not been investigated.
The minister said that the government has no plans at present to open a processing unit by extracting gold from the mines.
