HYDERABAD: Search for gold will resume in Andhra Pradesh as one of the private firms that got licence for prospecting studies has submitted its proposals to the Union Ministry of Environment, Forests, and Climate Change seeking forest clearance. The studies will be conducted in the forest areas of Sadukonda and Tamballapalle in Chittoor district.
The proposal for hearing came up before the forest clearance panel on January 5. However the panel kept it pending seeking more information on prospecting studies. Once the panel gave its nod, prospecting studies will be taken up, covering 900 hectares of forest area. The Indian Bureau of Mines estimated that Andhra Pradesh has a potential gold ore of 12.20 million tonnes. Prospecting studies have been held up in Andhra for over a decade, for various reasons. The latest proposal, by Geomysore Services Private Limited has revived the hope of gold prospecting and excavation in AP, which has about three per cent of India's gold ore.
IBM studies reveal "feeble to moderate" values of gold in Tellakonda village in neighbouring Kadapa district. Jonnegiri in Anantapur district is estimated to produce about 70 tonnes of gold a year. Banaganapalle, Pagadarai, and Yerragudi in Kurnool and Jaggaiahpet in Krishna district also showed encouraging signs of gold, as revealed by official data. As per state government data on minerals, there are a number of gold-bearing green stone schist belts in Chittoor, Anantapur, Kurnool, Guntur, Prakasam, Kadapa, and Nellore districts.
Officials have already identified about three dozen gold-bearing belts, which extend from 16 km to 185 km in length. The average assay of three to five grams of gold per tonne of ore is present in such belts. About 62,000 kg of gold can be obtained from these three dozen identified sites.
