Bhubaneshwar: Surveys from the Geological Survey of India (GSI) have found gold deposits in three districts of Odisha. State Steel and Mines Minister Prafulla Mallik said that the gold reserves were found in Deogarh, Keonjhar and Mayurbhanj.

“The surveys of the Directorate of Mines and Geological Survey of India (GSI) reveal the presence of gold reserves in three districts, including Deogarh, Keonjhar and Mayurbhanj,” Mallick stated in reply to a written question from Dhenkanal MLA, Sudhir Kumar Samal.

The gold reserves were found in four different places in Keonjhar and four places in Mayurbhanj along with one location in Deogarh. These areas include Dimirimunda, Kushakala, Gotipur, Gopur, Joshipur, Suriaguda, Ruansila, Dhushura hill and Adas.

The first surveys in the area were conducted in the 1970s and the 1980s, but the findings of the surveys had not been published. A new survey of the area was conducted by the GSI over the last two years.

Currently, India has three working gold mines in the country — Hutti and Uti mines in Karnataka and the Hirabuddini mines in Jharkhand. India’s gold production is around 1.6 tonnes a year, compared to the 774 tonnes a year of gold that it consumes.

Amid rising demand and prices of the precious metal, the Centre wants to increase gold production in the country. Last year, NITI Aayog conducted an extensive study to identify potential gold mines in the country. Currently, India’s gold reserves stand at a total of 70.1t (17.2Mt at 4.1g/t), according to data from the Ministry of Mines. The large extent of reserves is located in South India, with 88 percent of reserves located in Karnataka alone.