The state-run Barapukuria Coal Mining Company Ltd (BCMPCL) signed an agreement with Nottingham, UK-based DMT Consulting Ltd on Monday for carrying out a primary study for development of iron-ore deposit at Alihat, Hakimpur, in Dinajpur.
The Geological Survey of Bangladesh (GSB) estimated a deposit of around 625 million tonnes of iron ore in around 5.0 square kilometre area there.
The iron ore deposit is located between 426 metre and 548 metre beneath the surface, the GSB assumes.
The average thickness of the layer is around 68 metres, where the quantity of iron ore is believed to be around 50 per cent.
The BCMCL will carry out a detailed feasibility study, if the outcome of the DMT preliminary study report seems optimistic.
Presided over by Petrobangla Chairman Nazmul Ahsan, the event at Petrobangla office in the capital was attended, among others, by DMT Consulting Ltd managing director and Petrobangla directors.
azizjst@yahoo.com