The gold deposits were found in Son Pahadi and Hardi areas here, district mining officer K K Rai said. (Representational) The gold deposits were found in Son Pahadi and Hardi areas here, district mining officer K K Rai said. (Representational)

A day after it was reported that around 3,000 tonnes of gold deposits, almost five times India’s current reserve of the yellow metal, were discovered in Uttar Pradesh’s Sonbhadra district, the Geological Survey of India on Saturday denied finding such a vast amount of the resource.

In a statement released, the GSI said, “As per news report, published in various media that availability of 3350 tonnes of gold in Son Pahadi & Hardi field, Sonbhadra district, it is stated in the news that State Directorate of Geology & Mining, (DGM) Uttar Pradesh has shared this information”.

“We are not a party to the information published in the news. GSI has not estimated such kind of vast resource of gold deposits in Sonbhadra district, UP,” it added.

As per GSI study,the probable conservative figure of gold which can be unearthed is estimated to be around 160 kgs and not 3350 tonnes as mentioned in media reports. For more details, read the GSI press release below!#GSI #UncoveringIndia #Sonbhadra #UttarPradesh #Gold pic.twitter.com/KvY5ffZsGh — Geological Survey of India (@GeologyIndia) February 22, 2020

District mining officer K K Rai had Friday told news agency PTI that the gold deposits were found in Son Pahadi and Hardi areas in Sonbhadra. He added that besides gold, some other minerals had also been found in the area.

However, GSI Director General (DG) M Sridhar told the news agency today, “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.

The statement issued by the GSI further adds that the report which was shared with UP DGM has estimated “a probable category resource of 52,806.25 tonnes of Ore with 3.03 grams per tonne gold (average gold) for a strike length of 170m 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 52,806.25 tonnes of ore is approximately 160 kg and not 3,350 tonnes as mentioned in the media,” Sridhar clarified.

The GSI also stated that a press conference to clarify the matter will be conducted.

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