By IANS
Raipur : Chhattisgarh stood third in overall production of mineral wealth in India during the fiscal year that ended March 2007, an official statement said Thursday.
The state earned revenue of Rs.8.32 billion during the fiscal year from the production of iron ore, coal and bauxite, the statement from state’s Mines and Geology department said.
It said the main focus during 2007-08 would be on finding new deposits of coal, iron ore, bauxite and limestone.
According to the statement, tests of soil samples have indicated uranium reserves in Gotulmuta area in Durg district and in the basins of river Indravati in the state’s southern region.
In 2006-07, the Mines and Geology department collected 5,288 samples of soil for advanced laboratory tests from a total of 3,212 sq km area that was surveyed.
Besides, encouraging survey inputs have come from Raipur and Kanker districts about gold reserves, the statement said.
Chhattisgarh, having about 18 percent of country’s coal deposits and 20-22 percent of world’s finest quality iron ore, is planning to increase iron ore production from the extreme southern Dantewada district’s Bailadila hills.
The Bailadila hilly range, which has India’s largest iron ore stocks, is divided into 14 deposits. Three of them are being used by the public sector major National Mineral Development Corp Ltd (NMDC) for domestic supply besides exports to China, Japan and other Asian nations.