The process of finding 'country's largest' gold reserves in Jamui district will be started soon. A senior official gave this information on Saturday. According to a survey by the Geological Survey of India (GSI), the district has about 222.8 million tonnes of gold reserves, including 376 tonnes of mineral-rich ore. Additional Chief Secretary cum Mines Commissioner Harjot Kaur Bamhra said that the state's Mines and Geology Department is in consultation with the GSI and other agencies involved in the exploration including National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC) for the discovery of gold deposits in Jamui. He said that after analyzing the findings of GSI, the consultation process has been started. The survey had indicated the presence of gold in areas like Karmatia, Jhajha and Sono in Jamui district. According to the information, nickel has been found in Denjana and adjoining areas of Madanpur block on the border of Gaya and Aurangabad district in an area of ​​about eight square km. It is used extensively in airplanes and mobiles.

Potash has been found in about 25 sq km area in Rohtas district. This includes an area of ​​10 square km in Nawadih block of Rohtas district, eight km in Tipa block and seven km in Shahpur block. Potash is used extensively in medicine and chemical fertilizers.

Apart from gold, Bihar also has reserves of nickel, chromium, potash and coal. Large deposits of gold in Jamui, nickel and chromium in Aurangabad, potash in Gaya and coal in Bhagalpur have also been unearthed.

According to sources, grade G-12 of coal is available around Pirpainti and Kahalgaon in Bhagalpur. The coal reserves are estimated to be around 850 million tonnes here.

Bamhra said the state government is likely to sign MoUs with central agencies for the G-3 (preliminary) phase of exploration within a month. He said that in some areas, G2 (general) category exploration can also be done. Union Mines Minister Prahlad Joshi told the Lok Sabha last year that Bihar has the largest share of India's gold reserves. In a written reply, Joshi had said that Bihar has 222.8 million tonnes of gold, which is 44 percent of the total gold reserves of the country. The total resource of primary gold ore in the country is estimated at 501.8 million tonnes with 654.74 tonnes as on April 1, 2015.

After the two-stage survey conducted by the Geological Survey of India, there have been indications of adequate deposits of iron ore in Manjosh village of Jamui district. The work of the third phase survey has been started by the central government after confirming that the deposits of magnetite, considered to be the highest quality iron ore, were found in abundance in the two-phase survey. In the excavation, stones like white marble have been found, which are very shiny in appearance and seem like the marble used on the floors of the houses. Soon after examining its various aspects, the process of mining of iron ore magnetite will be started.