The Geological Survey of Bangladesh (GSB) will conduct a survey for identification and economic assessment of precious minerals in river sands of the country. Talking to The Independent, Md Nehal Uddin, director general (DG) of the GSB, said: “The Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna (GBM) river systems are enriched with valuable and precious minerals. We want to conduct a study to find out those valuable resources."
The study will be carried out at 30-metre depth of the rivers, he said.
This will be done under a GSB project titled "Identification and Economic Assessment of Valuable Minerals in the River Sands of Bangladesh". The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) approved the Tk. 35.63 crore project on January 19. "The GSB will identify the minerals present and we'll quantify the total reserves of sand deposits to determine the contents and quality of economic minerals, as well as itheir market demand," said Nehal Uddin.
The project is to be implemented in the GBM basins in Greater Mymensingh, Tangail, Sylhet, Dhaka, Comilla, Noakhali, Chittagong and Bhola districts.
The main objective of the project is to assess the extension, reserves, mode of occurrence and economic viability of the mineral sand in the rivers, said the GSB DG.
Explaining the other objective, Nehal Uddin said that a
basic database on mineral and elemental compositions of the river sands will be created through a detailed geological exploration.
He also said that they expect to find some of the strategic minerals that are important for the nation's economy.
The minerals do not have replacements and, as of now, these primarily come to Bangladesh from foreign countries, he
observed.
It is to be noted that sands of the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna and some other rivers are said to contain a considerable amount of heavy minerals like uranium and monazite.
Uranium and monazite are used in nuclear plants. These can also be upgraded to weaponS GRADE and used for military
purposes.