3,350 tonnes of gold found in UP mines, 5 times India’s reserves

Gold deposits amounting to 3,350 tonnes were found in two mines of Sonbhadra district by the Geological Survey of India and Uttar Pradesh Directorate of Geology and Mining after two decades of search. 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 at Rs 12lakh crore.

“The government is thinking of putting these deposits on lease for mining, for which survey is being done. Gold deposits have been found at two places - Sonpahadi and Hardi field. GSI estimated gold deposits of 2,700 million tonnes in Sonpahadi and 650 million tonnes in Hardi field,” KK Rai, District Mining Officer said.

The State Mining Department has formed a seven-member team that visited Sonbhadra on Thursday. They will map the goldmine area and will conduct geo-tagging. Officials say the mineral-rich mines of Sonbhadra are easy to dig due to their geographical position as they are mostly situated on a hillock. The government will start the auction process as soon as compensation payout and necessary approvals are granted.

Officials are also exploring the possibility of rare minerals like uranium in the area. Bundelkhand and Vindhyan districts of UP are rich in minerals like gold, diamond, platinum, limestone, granite, phosphate, quartz, and China clay. The exploration of the vast goldmines and other minerals will give a big boost to the state’s revenue as well. The work for finding gold reserves in Sonbhadra started in the year 1992-93 after the Central Geological Survey of India took over. It was reportedly the British who first initiated the process to find gold reserve in Sonbhadra region.