The news of around 3,350 tonnes of gold being discovered in Sonbhadra in Uttar Pradesh has been firmly dismissed by the Geological Survey of India, but not before it made international headlines.

The GSI headquarters in Kolkata issued a statement on Saturday evening stating, “As per news report, published in various media that the availability of 3350 tonnes of gold in Son Pahadi and Hardi field, Sonbhadra district, it is stated in the news that State Directorate of Geology and Mining (DGM), Uttar Pradesh has shared this information. Geological Survey of India is not party to the information published in the news. GSI has not estimated such kind of vast resources of gold resources in Sonbhadra district, UP.”

Earlier on Saturday, Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya had said that it was the blessings of Lord Ram that had bestowed such riches on the state. There were already calculations of how much the discovery would bolster the economy of the state and the country.

The GSI has, however, put an end to such speculation through its statement. The official release reads: “It is to inform the media that Geological Survey of India, Northern region, has carried out several exploration works for gold. However, the results were not encouraging to come up with major resources of gold in Sonbhadra district, UP. This exploration was carried out in the field season 1998-99 & 1999-2000 and the report has been handed over to the DGM UP for information and further necessary action.”

The statement continues, “In the report, GSI had 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 170 m in Sub-Block H, Sonapahari area, Sonbhadra district, UP. The mineralised zone having an average grade of 3.03 grams per tonne of gold is tentative in nature and the total gold which can be extracted from the total resource of 52806.25 tonnes of ore is approximately 160 kg and not 3,350 tonnes as mentioned in the media.’

Dinkar Kapoor, leader of the Swaraj Abhiyaan, a socio-political outfit active in the region, told THE WEEK, “The area is rich in natural resources, but the possibility of discovery and discovery itself are two very different things. Some sections of the media said it was gold while others proffered it was uranium. This is mere media sensationalism. I got alarmed when foreign news agencies started showing the news.”

Sonbhadra is among UP’s most backward districts with poor socio-economic parameters. The discovery of the gold as projected by the media would have India’s path to becoming a 5 trillion economy easy.

This is not the first time that an alleged discovery of huge gold reserves has created big news. In 2013, a priest in Unnao district had dreamt of 1,000 tonnes of gold buried in the ruins of an old fort. Approximately a month after, the GSI dug in vain for the gold before declaring the whole thing a hoax.