Balangir: People living in Nandupala village under Khaprakhol block of Odisha’s Balangir district are hopeful of striking gold after some pieces of yellow metal were found during the digging for a tubewell on a private land.
According to sources, a deep borewell was sunk on the farmland of one Mohammed Javed on March 8. On Friday, Javed drew out the muddy water and soil remnants from the newly excavated borewell with help of a pump set. However, he was shocked to find some pieces and fragments of shining yellow metal coming along with the soil and muddy water. He suspected the metal fragments to be gold. As words about such rare discovery spread, locals intimated Khaprakhol tehsildar Aditya Prasad Mishra, who visited the spot to take stock of the situation.
BDO Rashmi Ranjan Rout and IIC Ramakant Sahu also visited the site and examined the fragments, which they said sparkled under torch light. Suspecting that the shining yellow granules could be gold, they collected samples for laboratory test.
“After a laboratory testing, it will clear if the metal is gold or not,” said the tehsildar.
Following the discovery of the yellow metal, a wave of euphoria has gripped the village.
It was earlier discussed in various forums that the foothill areas of Gandhamardan have reserves of various metals. Locals said that the mines department can only ascertain if the village has gold reserves.
The recent surveys of the Directorate of Mines and Geological Survey of India (GSI) had also revealed the presence of gold reserves in three districts, including Deogarh, Keonjhar and Mayurbhanj, in Odisha. However, Balangir did not feature in this list instead the belt is known for graphite, manganese and gem stones.
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