Gsi Report

J&K has almost 1 billion tonnes of limestone reserves: GSI official

The Geological Survey of India (GSI) has estimated that Jammu and Kashmir holds nearly one billion tonnes of limestone reserves, a senior central government official has said. Additional Secretary in the Union Ministry of Mines Sanjay Lohiya noted that the Union Territory also has significant potential for other key minerals, which the J&K government intends to explore and utilize for the benefit of the people of the region. Expressing satisfaction over Jammu and Kashmir becoming part of India's mineral block auction map with the launch of the first limestone block auction and roadshow here, the official said the Centre would extend full support to accelerate exploration, development and investments in the sector. Union minister G Kishan Reddy, J&K chief minister Omar Abdullah and his deputy Surinder Choudhary jointly launched the e-auction of seven limestone mineral blocks, covering about 314 hectares, across the districts of Anantnag, Rajouri, and Poonch here on Monday. "All

Rare earths not rare, their concentration is: GSI chief Asit Saha

At present, GSI has almost 240 projects on critical minerals, including around 100 related to rare earth

GSI plans to use AI to develop robust landslide forecasting model: DG

The Geological Survey of India (GSI) is conducting a research programme to develop a more robust landslide forecasting model and expert system leveraging artificial intelligence (AI), an official said. This was stated by GSI Director General Asit Saha at a workshop held here on Friday to commemorate the first anniversary of the National Landslide Forecasting Centre (NLFC). "There is ongoing research underway to develop a more robust landslide forecasting model and expert system leveraging artificial intelligence (AI)," Saha said. He also reiterated the institution's long-term vision of operationalising a nationwide Regional Landslide Early Warning System (LEWS) by 2030. The DG also said that the GSI would soon begin issuing operational landslide early warning bulletins for Rudraprayag district in Uttarakhand. Saha commended the NLFC team for expanding its landslide early warning coverage from 16 districts across six states at its inception to 21 districts across eight states in .

GSI team to visit Zambia to map and explore copper blocks this week

This is part of India's national critical minerals mission (NCMM), which aims to extend support to Indian public and private sector companies for mapping and exploration of critical mineral assets

Over 400 mineral development projects in GSI's roadmap for 2025-26

The Geological Survey of India on Sunday said it has charted an extensive roadmap for the 2025-26 field season with around 1,065 scientific programmes, including 402 mineral development projects and a 16-per cent jump in the number of critical mineral initiatives. Within exploration activities, a significant focus has been placed on critical mineral exploration, with 227 dedicated projects targeting strategically important mineral commodities such as graphite, lithium and vanadium, the surveyor said in a statement. The GSI said it would spend Rs 300 crore on critical mineral exploration and investigation during the field season. "For the upcoming year 2025-26, GSI has formulated about 1,065 scientific programmes, which include 402 mineral development projects that have the potential to generate auctionable mineral blocks in the near future," it said. The Kolkata-headquartered GSI will also take up 167 mineral discovery projects having the potential to create promising areas for fut

Critical mineral push: Exploration up 53%, but auction hurdles persist

The ministry has also notified 28 private exploration agencies to undertake exploration without requiring prospecting licences

NGT issues notice to GSI over declining condition of Kerala's Varkala cliff

The National Green Tribunal has sought a reply from the Geological Survey of India and others in a matter over the deteriorating conditions of Kerala's Varkala cliff, a designated national geo-heritage site. The NGT was hearing the issue after taking suo motu (on its own) cognisance of a media report regarding the site in the state's Thiruvananthapuram district facing threats due to environmental violations and administrative oversight. A bench of NGT Chairperson Justice Prakash Shrivastava, judicial member Justice Arun Kumar Tyagi and expert member A Senthil Vel said, "The news item highlights that the most alarming violation was the controversial step of demolishing part of the cliff, supposedly to prevent landslides and that the GSI termed the demolition shocking given the site's immense geological and geomorphologic significance." The bench on November 22 further took note of the report over the extensive unauthorised constructions along the cliff, such as resorts, restaurants,

Wayanad landslide forecast bulletins experimental: GSI after disaster

Amid reports that its warning system "failed" in landslide-hit Wayanad in Kerala, the Geological Survey of India (GSI) on Friday said its regional forecast bulletins for the district were experimental and issued once a day for ground testing. This process was a "part of building a prediction model", which will take 4-5 years to be ready for public use, a GSI official said. "GSI has started issuing regional landslide forecast bulletins on an experimental mode once a day for Wayanad district, Kerala. These are issued only to the State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA) and District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) for ground testing since the onset of the 2024 monsoon. It is restricted only to SDMA and DDMA for receiving feedback," a GSI spokesperson told PTI. These forecasts are based on rainfall predictions provided by the National Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasting (NCMRWF) and the India Meteorological Department (IMD) to prepare landslide thresholds, he said. Massi

6 Myanmarese poachers die of 'starvation' inside Andaman forest: Report

Bodies of six suspected Myanmarese poachers were found in remote Narcondam island in Andaman and Nicobar Islands, an officer said on Sunday. It appears that the poachers died of starvation and dehydration on the small volcanic island after they ran out of ration, the official said. The small boat they used to reach the island had developed some snag and they could not return. The bodies were found lying a few metres from the shore in a forest on the small Narcondam island on Saturday. Located in the easternmost part of India, Narcondam in North and Middle Andaman district is only 126 km from Myanmar's Coco Island. It is formed of andesite, a volcanic rock. The island is classified as a dormant volcano by the Geological Survey of India (GSI). The island covering an area of approximately 7.6 square kilometres is a hunting ground for the poachers from Myanmar. On February 14, the Andaman police during a search operation apprehended two Myanmarese poachers from Narcondam Island. They

Centre asks GSI, others to increase pace of mineral blocks exploration

The government on Monday asked the Geological Survey of India (GSI) and other agencies to speed up exploration of mineral blocks. Speaking at the 63rd Central Geological Programming Board (CGPB) meeting, Mines Secretary V L Kantha Rao urged state governments to be more aggressive in the implementation of exploration projects through the National Mineral Exploration Trust (NMET) funding. The GSI and other exploration agencies should increase the pace of exploration of critical minerals, Rao said. He further urged stakeholders to make use of geoscience data available in the National Geoscience Data Repository (NGDR) portal for a smooth exploration process, the mines ministry said in a statement. The GSI has formulated about 1,055 scientific programmes for 2024-25, including 392 mineral development projects that have the potential to generate auctionable mineral blocks, in the near future.

GSI data, NGDR to help makers of pumped storage hydro projects: Official

Mines Secretary V L Kantha Rao on Thursday stressed on the role of leading organisations under the mines ministry, including the Geological Survey of India (GSI), to build pumped storage hydro power projects and highways. Addressing a workshop, the secretary made a special mention of the National Institute of Rock Mechanics (NIRM) for their inputs on assessing the quality of stones being used in the construction of Ram Mandir in Ayodhya. GSI data and the recently launched National Geoscience Data Repository (NGDR) portal will help developers of pumped storage hydro power project, he said. Rao underlined the vast geological, geotechnical data generated by the GSI over its journey of more than 172 years. "Rao called upon GSI to gear up to the demand from the industry and augment its in-house capacity in Mission IV to cater to desired quality output in a time-bound manner," the mines ministry said in a statement. Rao said the power ministry has envisioned construction of a large numb

GSI conducts 122 exploration projects for critical minerals this year

In the last three years, a total of 422 critical minerals exploration projects were taken by the scientific agency

Bihar govt asks GSI for detailed exploration for gold reserves in Jamui

Bihar's Department of Mines and Geology has asked the Geological Survey of India to carry out a detailed exploration to trace gold reserves in Sono area of Jamui district, days after the state government decided to allow auction of nine mineral blocks, officials said. The department has also asked the competent authority to extend the exploration work to identify more coal-bearing areas in Batesarthan-Kasri-Jagarnathpur area in Bhagalpur district. Geophysical work has to be completed before taking up drilling and exploration for the presence of gold reserves in Sono. The G4 stage exploration (preliminary survey) is required to find out the presence of any gold reserve in the area. The DMG has requested the GSI to carry out a detailed analysis/exploration in this regard, Md Nayyer Iqubal, Director (Mines), Bihar, told PTI. There are four stages of exploration for mineral deposits - reconnaissance survey (G4), preliminary exploration (G3), general exploration (G2) and detailed ...

GSI to carry remote sensing in Bihar to identify magnetite-bearing rocks

The Bihar government has decided to sign an MoU with Geological Survey of India for conducting remote sensing and aerial survey of the southern part of the state to identify magnetic anomaly on the surface representing the presence of rocks having a higher content of ferrous and ferromagnesian minerals, an official said. For the first time in Bihar, such a survey will be conducted by the Remote Sensing and Aerial Survey Division (RSAS), GSI (Bengaluru) in Aurangabad, Jehanabad, Nalanda and Jamui districts in the state, the official said. "Approval has already been given for the signing of the MoU between Department of Mines and Geology (DMG) and RSAS-GSI. Now the MoU is being finalised. Once the MoU is signed, the final outcome of the studies/survey will be available within a year for further action," Additional Chief Secretary-cum Mines Commissioner, Harjot Kaur Bamrah told PTI on Sunday. "Earlier, there was a perception that Bihar lost its mineral wealth following the creation of

India plans to link prices of domestic lithium with London Metal Exchange

The move to link the prices comes after the Geological Survey of India (GSI) conducted an exploration of the blocks of REEs and lithium in the country

Geological Survey of India plans to launch landslide warning system in 2026

Geological Survey of India (GSI) plans to launch an early warning system for possible landslides across the nation in 2026, an official of the organisation said. The Kolkata-headquartered scientific body, the nodal agency on landslide hazards, has already started disseminating such warnings on an experimental basis to Darjeeling and Kalimpong districts of West Bengal and Nilgiris in Tamil Nadu, GSI Deputy Director General (Policy Support System - Planning and Monitoring) Asit Saha said. "GSI is in the process of developing and validating a regional landslide early warning system and efforts are on to make it operational in different states in phases from 2026 onwards," Saha told PTI on Thursday. It has already carried out a nationwide landslide susceptibility mapping on a 1:50,000 scale for the hilly and mountainous areas of the country prone to landslips. In terms of area it covers about 4.3 lakh sq km, which is 12.6 per cent of the country's landmass and is spread over 19 states

One-third of annual exploration projects are for critical minerals: GSI

Amid the buzz of 'green economy', the Geological Survey of India (GSI) is intensifying its exploration exercises for critical minerals, like lithium, nickel, cobalt and rare earth elements, with "one-third" of such projects being dedicated to the search of these resources, a top official said on Sunday. These critical minerals are key to clean energy technologies. The national survey organisation, which now has a working collaboration with Geoscience Australia for mineral exploration, is also in talks for tie-ups with the authorities in Russia and Brazil, GSI Deputy Director General (Policy Support System - Planning and Monitoring) Asit Saha said. "We have been taking up more than 100 exploration projects every year for critical minerals since 2020-21. The same trend continues this year (2023-24) also, as it is our thrust area. Earlier, the number of such projects was to the tune of 60-70 but now we have drastically increased it. "Out of a total of around 350 mineral exploration ..

Lithium reserves found in Jammu and Kashmir by GSI: Mines secretary

The government on Thursday said lithium reserves have been found for the first time in the country in Jammu and Kashmir. Lithium is a non-ferrous metal and is one of the key components in EV batteries. "For the first time, lithium reserves have been discovered and that too in Jammu and Kashmir," Mines Secretary Vivek Bharadwaj said. Upon exploration by the Geological Survey of India (GSI), lithium reserves have been found in Reasi district of Jammu and Kashmir. Earlier, the mines ministry had said that to strengthen the critical mineral supply chain for emerging technologies, the government was taking several proactive measures to secure minerals, including lithium, from Australia and Argentina. Currently, India is import-dependent for many minerals like lithium, nickel and cobalt. Speaking at the 62nd Central Geological Programming board meeting here, Bharadwaj also said that whether it is a mobile phone or a solar panel, critical minerals are required everywhere. In order to b

GSI report shows intrusion by J&K police in Lahaul-Spiti

The dispute surfaced in July, 2014 when Jammu and Kashmir police set up its post at Sarchu