According to a media update, the Geological Survey of India (GSI) will provide geological reports of 18 mineral blocks to the government in December and 13 more mine blocks by the end of 2019. This is confirmed by an official from GSI.
The government has plans to auction more than 100 mineral blocks during the current fiscal year and GSI studies have been conducted based on this requirement.
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According to the official the list of 18 mine blocks includes one bauxite block in Kerala, seven copper blocks in Rajasthan and Haryana, three iron ore blocks in Madhya Pradesh and Odisha, two gold blocks in Karnataka, two manganese blocks in Odisha and Andhra Pradesh, three limestone blocks in Chhattisgarh and Karnataka.
Earlier 2018, GSI said that it was working on 34 projects in the country's eastern region, which is rich in mineral deposit. Last month, the GSI said it has found 44 new coal blocks spread across West Bengal, Jharkhand, Bihar and Odisha. GSI said the estimated coal resource of these 44 new blocks is close to 25,000 million tonne.
Earlier in November, an official of the Geological Survey of India (GSI) said the remote region of North-east India has unexplored ineral reserves worth more than INR 10 lakh crore.
“In Garo Hills we have estimated coal reserves of about 576.48 million tonnes.” The official said. He also informed that Meghalaya has an estimated bauxite reserve of 5.88 million tonnes. The GSI said they are waiting for the approval from the Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council to start exploration for Bauxite in Nongstoin area (West Khasi Hills).
The government has auctioned 50 mines in this fiscal, including 23 limestone, 17 iron ore, 4 gold, 2 each of manganese and graphite blocks and one bauxite and diamond block each.
The main functions of the GSI relate to creation and updation of national geo-scientific information and mineral resource assessment. According to the GSI the mineral sector drives the GDP growth of the country and also acts as a catalyst for the growth of other industries like power, steel, aluminium and cement.
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