LUCKNOW, India – On Saturday, an Indian government official announced that fields with over 3,000 tonnes of gold ore were found and India has clarified the nature of this gold discovery in Uttar Pradesh to address the social media activity that sparked from the statement.
A GOLD-EN DISCOVERY
State and federal departments discovered gold traces in the Sonbhadra district of Uttar Pradesh on surveying the area for over a decade, said Roshan Jacob, head of Uttar Pradesh’s mining department.
Roshan Jacob said that 3,000 tonnes of gold ore were found in the region across two areas and the concentration level of the gold was approximate 3 grams per tonne of ore.
On Saturday, however, Geological Survey of India (GSI) announced that only a total of 160 kilograms of total gold can be extracted from the region.
INDIA’S TRYST WITH GOLD
Being the world’s second-largest gold consumer, India mines 2 to 3 tonnes of gold a year and relies on imports to gratify its demand.
India expended over $31 billion on imports of gold, making this noble metal the second-largest import item following crude oil.
The gold demand in India is mainly towards its use in jewellery for offerings to God or for use in lavish weddings.
India keeps revisiting the idea to revive colonial-era southern Karnataka gold mines but the project has failed to launch due to low output and high-cost factors.
(Photos syndicated via Reuters)
This story has been edited by BH staff and is published from a syndicated field.
