Bihar has decided on further exploration of the precious metal in the state’s Jamui district, which is believed to hold India’s highest gold reserves. Union Minister Prahlad Joshi told Lok Sabha last year that the eastern state holds the country’s highest reserves of the yellow metal.
Officials from the mining ministry told Times of India that the mines department of the state has received proposals from National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC) and Mines Exploration Corporation Ltd (MCEL) for gold exploration in Jamui.
According to a report by the Bureau of Mines, cited in TOI report, Jamui holds 222.88 million tonnes of gold reserves, including 37.6 tonnes of mineral-rich ore. The state government conducted the last survey in Jamui from 1982 to 1991 along with the Geological Survey of India (GSI).
Additional chief secretary-cum mines commissioner Harjot Kaur Bamrah told TOI that as per the last survey, the grade of gold in Jamui is low as compared to present standards. Therefore, the state government has decided to carry out further exploration to ascertain the current status, grade and distribution of gold in the district.
Sanjay Kumar Dutta of GSI told the paper that the grade of the yellow metal, as measured by PPM (parts per million) of gold was 0.17 ppm. The minimum standard for carrying out underground mining for gold is 2 ppm.
A fresh survey will help determine the present status, said Dutta.
