The Northeast has mineral reserves worth more than Rs 10 lakh crore which are yet to be exploited according to Geological Survey of India (GSI).
Noting that if these mineral reserves are exploited, the region will flourish, a GSI official in Shillong said the mineral sector drives the growth of the country and not only does it contribute to the GDP, it also acts as a catalyst for the growth of other core industries such as power, steel, cement, which in turn are crucial for economy.
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“A total resource of 1642.64 million tonnes of coal has been estimated from the three states of Meghalaya, Assam and Arunachal Pradesh,” said Mulkh Raj Jarngal, the additional Director General (ADG) and Head of Department of GSI, North Eastern Region.
He said the region has a limestone reserve of 10108.6 million tonnes which has been estimated from Meghalaya to the southern part of Assam.
“Dolomite low grade deposit is found in Arunachal Pradesh with a 58 million tonnes estimated reserve in Dedza and 185 million tonnes probable reserve in Rupa area,” Jarngal said.
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He said graphite with an estimated reserve of 703.015 million tonnes is found in Arunachal Pradesh.
While clay with a probable resource of one million to three million tonnes have been discovered in Mizoram and Tripura.
Iron ore is found in Assam with an estimated reserve of 14.84 million tonnes. Meghalaya has a total resource of 5.88 million tonne of bauxite.
The GSI is engaged in generating baseline data and mineral exploration besides research and development projects in the field of geosciences, mining and exploration.