The Carbon Mining Bangladesh Limited (CMBL) is going to be awarded the mining licence to extract ilmenite, zircon, garnet and mineral sand from 2,400 hectares of land in two upazilas (UZs) under Kurigram district, sources said.
The Energy and Mineral Resources Division at a recent meeting has decided to award the mining licence, and it will soon send a proposal to Prime Minister (PM) Sheikh Hasina for approval of the lease, the division said.
"We are preparing necessary papers for sending the proposal to the PM for her approval," a senior official at the division told the FE.
Meanwhile, the authorities concerned have taken steps to declare the area as a 'mineral sand quarry' before leasing out the blocks.
After conducting exploration in 3,987 hectares of land in Chilmari and Ulipur upazilas under Kurigram district for nearly five years, the CMBL last year applied to the Bureau of Mineral Development (BMD) seeking lease of 2,400 hectares (ha) of land in three blocks.
The CMBL wants to extract ilmenite from 800 hectares of land in block-A of Brahmaputra basin in Chilmari upazila, zircon and garnet from 800 hectares in each portion of land under block-B and block-C of Ulipur upazila.
The CMBL officials at a meeting said extraction of 2,000-5,000 tonnes of ilmenite, 500-1,000 tonnes of zircon, and 5,000-10,000 tonnes of garnet is possible form the blocks which will be economically viable.Chairman of CMBL Wahid Salam informed the mineral resources division that he has a target to invest Tk 1.10 billion in the area for the mining activities if the mines are leased out in favour of his company.
The activities will generate employment for 500-600 people in the 'Monga'-affected area. Besides, a good amount of foreign currency could be earned through exporting the minerals.
The CMBL officials said during the exploration, they had also found the minor presence of uranium and thorium in that area. But they consider extraction of these minerals would not be profitable in line with the present cut-off grade.
However, the chairman of CMBL informed the ministry that his company has no prior experience of mining for minerals. He said CMBL would seek assistance from Australian company Chandala Mineral Processing Plant, alongside taking advice from Bangladeshi experts after the lands were leased out.
Of the minerals, ilmenite is being used as a base pigment in paints, papers and plastic; zircon is used in the ceramics industry, and garnet goes to paper and textiles industries.
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