HomeNews ReportsGeological Survey of India issues clarification on Sonbhadra gold discovery, says estimated reserve is...

Geological Survey of India issues clarification on Sonbhadra gold discovery, says estimated reserve is 160 kg, not 3350 tonnes as reported by media

The mineralised zone having an average grade of 3.03 grams per tonne of gold is tentative in nature and the total amount of gold that can be extracted from the total reserve of 52806.25 tonnes of ore is approximately about 160 Kg and not 3350 tonnes as mentioned in the reports

Rubbishing the news reports stating availability of around 3000 tonnes of gold in the Sonbhadra district in Uttar Pradesh, the Geological Survey of India (GSI) on Saturday claimed that it is not a party to the information published in the media and has not estimated such vast reserves of gold deposits in the area.

In a notification released by the GSI, it said that the GSI Northern region had carried out several explorations to determine reserves of gold but the results were not encouraging that suggested major resources for gold in Sonbhadra, UP.


“The exploration was carried in the Field Season 1998-99 & 1999-2000 and the report has been handed over the DGM UP for further and necessary action. In the report, the GSI has estimated a probable category resource of 52806.25 tonnes of Ore with 3.03 grams per tonne gold (average grade) for a strike length of 170m in Sub-Block-H, Sonapahari area, Sonbhadra district, UP,” the notification issued by Geological Survey of India said.

Director General of Geological Survey of India, M. Shridhar told media, “Such data was not given by anybody from GSI. GSI has not estimated such kind of vast resource of gold deposits in Sonbhadra district”.

“We share our findings regarding any resources of ore after conducting survey with the state units…. We (GSI, Northern Region) had carried out work in that region in 1998-99 and 1999-2000. The report was shared with UP DGM for information and further necessary action,” he added.

Furthermore, it mentioned that the mineralised zone having an average grade of 3.03 grams per tonne of gold is tentative in nature and the total amount of gold that can be extracted from the total reserve of 52806.25 tonnes of ore is approximately about 160 Kg and not 3350 tonnes as mentioned in the reports.

A joint press conference as called by DGM UP has also been organised by the GSI and DGM Uttar Pradesh to issue a clarification regarding the misleading figures of gold reserves found in Uttar Pradesh’s Sonbhadra.

Earlier, many media outlets published reports stating that a massive 3000 tonnes of gold reserves had been discovered by the GSI in Sonbhadra district of Uttar Pradesh. Media reports had quoted district mining officials of UP for that number.

Join OpIndia's official WhatsApp channel

  Support Us  

For likes of 'The Wire' who consider 'nationalism' a bad word, there is never paucity of funds. They have a well-oiled international ecosystem that keeps their business running. We need your support to fight them. Please contribute whatever you can afford

OpIndia Staff
OpIndia Staffhttps://www.opindia.com
Staff reporter at OpIndia

Related Articles

Trending now

The Indian Express invokes 2023 UNESCO inscription to secularise Garba and vilify Hindu groups for Muslim ban: Here’s how the newspaper’s arguments are flawed

On 19th October, The Indian Express article headlined, "How saffron groups are ‘pushing out’ non-Hindus of Navratri events", cherry-picks a few incidents of confrontations and announcements at Navratri Garba events in Gujarat to weave a narrative that there is a systematic "saffron" campaign of exclusion against Muslims that contradicts the UNESCO's recognition of Garba as inclusive. 

French cities burn, but BBC calls protests ‘Mostly Peaceful’: How Western media applies double standards to France and India

The coverage of the French unrest, when compared with the reporting of CJP demonstrations in India, offers a striking example of how the framing of protests can change depending on the country involved.
- Advertisement -