Odisha: Odisha has a vast reservoir of mineral wealth, and gold reserves have now been discovered in three districts of the state, Steel and Mines Minister Prafulla Mallik announced here on Monday. Responding to a question from Dhenkanal MLA Sudhir Kumar Samal during the ongoing budget session of the Assembly, Mallik stated that the presence of the precious metal was detected in the districts of Deogarh, Keonjhar, and Mayurbhanj of Odisha following surveys by the Directorate of Mines and Geology and the Geological Survey of India (GSI).
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Responding to a written question from Sudhir Kumar Samal, MLA from Dhenkanal, the Minister stated, “The Directorate of Mines and Geological Survey of India (GSI) surveys reveal the presence of gold reserves in three districts including Deogarh, Keonjhar, and Mayurbhanj.”
Gold deposits found in Keonjhar, Mayurbhanj and Deogarh district, informs minister in Assembly #Odisha pic.twitter.com/OEZ7QBMLjd
— OTV (@otvnews) February 27, 2023
Gold reserves were discovered in Mayurbhanj, Jashipur, Saraguda, Ruansi, Idelkucha, Badampahar, and Suleipat (Dhusura hill). The survey discovered 0.1-2.6 gramme gold per 1 tonne of Auriferous lode in the Idellucha-Maredihi-Badampahar area (rocks containing the metal). In 1970-71, the State Mines and Geology Directorate discovered 0.1-0.8 gramme gold per 1 tonne of rock spread across 2.3 km in the conglomerate horizon of Dhusura hill in Suleipat.
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Later, in 2021-22, the GSI used cutting-edge technology to conduct another survey in those areas of Keonjhar district. GSI officials remained silent about the survey results at the time as well.
The people of Keonjhar, Mayurbhanj, and Deogarh, on the other hand, are up in arms as a result of the Steel and Mines Minister’s statement in the House.
In fact, the first survey for the Keonjhar district gold deposit was conducted in the 1980s. With the technology available at the time, the Geological Survey of India (GSI) conducted the survey in villages such as Kushakala, Goppur, and Jaladiha in the Taramakant and Nayakote Panchayats of Keonjhar’s Banasapal block. The survey’s results, however, were kept private.
