Geological Survey of India: Bihar has India’s largest gold reserves.

• A survey by the Geological Survey of India has stated that a gold reserve of around 222.88 million tonnes including 27.6 tonnes of mineral-rich ore are present in the Jamui District of Bihar.

Key points:

• The State Mines and Geology Department is in consultation with agencies engaged in the exploration, including GSI and the National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC), for the exploration of gold reserves in Jamui.
• The consultation process had started after analysing the survey findings which indicated the presence of gold in areas such as Karmatia, Jhajha and Sono in the Jamui district.
• The Bihar government is likely to sign a memorandum of understanding with a central agency or agencies for G3 (preliminary) stage exploration within a month’s time, adding that in certain areas G2 (general) exploration can also be carried out.