Valuable minerals discovered in sandy shoals of Gaibandha

GAIBANDHA, Mar 16: Valuable minerals worth several thousand crores of taka have been spotted in an invisible state in the sandy shoals of the riverine district Gaibandha.

Surrounded by rivers, Gaibandha has 165 chars (shoals) in its four upazilas.

Sandy shoals have emerged on the Jamuna and Brahmaputra riverbanks due to lack of navigability.

During monsoon, the rivers here tend to have high tides.

Once upon a time, the Jamuna and the Brahmaputra came into view with sand dunes.

At the time of dry season, vast marshes are formed on the banks of the rivers.

A study has revealed that minerals worth several thousand crores of taka remain hidden in the sandy shoals.

The study conducted by the Institute of Mining, Mineralogy and Metallurgy, which conducts research on mineral resources, has found presence of six types of valuable minerals in the sandy shoals of the Brahmaputra River flowing between Gaibandha and Kurigram districts.

The institute citing the research findings said that the price of mineral resources found in each square kilometre area would be at least Tk 36.3 billion (3,630 crore) without any techno-economic evaluation.

The scientists who conducted the survey said there are a lot of mineral resources in the sandy river shoals.

The valuable minerals detected in the shoals are ilminite, rutile, zircon, magnetite, garnet and quartz. Of them, rutile is used in the production of paints, plastics, welding rods, inks, foods, cosmetics and medicines.

Australia, India, Italy, Sri Lanka, Thailand, South Africa, Sierra Leone and the United States export these types of minerals all over the world.

Zircon is used in production of ceramics, tiles, and molding sands.

Currently, Australia, South Africa, India, China, Brazil, Sierra Leone and the US export this mineral resource throughout the world.

Magnetite is used in the production of magnets and steel, in the cleaning of coal extracted from mines, and in the drilling of deep wells in oil and gas exploration.

Only two countries - South Africa and Australia - in the world export this precious mineral all over the world.

Garnet is a heavy and valuable mineral. It is used in the manufacture of corrugated paper, cleaning of ferrous pipes and sand blasting. Currently, Australia and India export the mineral across the globe.

The Brahmaputra originates from the Lake Mansarovar near the Kailash peak of the Himalayas and flows through Tibet and Assam, India before entering Bangladesh through Kurigram. The Jamuna came to Saghata and got its name.

Mohammad Nazim Zaman, director of the Institute of Mining, Mineralogy and Metallurgy, Joypurhat, said, "We conducted a geophysical survey from the entrance to Kurigram to Gaibandha downstream and the shoals on the Teesta River basin. A preliminary study was conducted from 2010 to 2012 to determine which minerals are present in the area."

"As it is effective, the Prime Minister directed the authorities to pilot this issue. After this, an ATP project was taken up in 2017. According to that project, a mineral research institute was established in Joypurhat. If research is conducted, precious minerals can be found in the Brahmaputra," he added.

He also said that a few years ago, 2,500 tonnes of sand was collected from different sandbanks of Kurigram and Gaibandha. Then two kgs of ilminite, 200 gms of rutile, 400 gms of zircon, 3.8 kgs of magnetite, 12 kgs of garnet and 50 kgs of quartz minerals were collected from each tonne of sand following various processes at the mineral processing centre.

Citing the research, Dr Zaman said market value of the sand used for construction after extraction from every square kilometre area at a depth of 10 metres is Tk 800 million to one billion (80 to 100 crores).

And the market value of minerals obtained from the same area is Tk 36.3 billion (3,630 crores).

The government will determine through research which organisation in what process will extract these minerals, he added.

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