Kolkata June 7 (IANS) The Geological Survey of India (GSI) which is focusing on mineral exploration is looking to complete its geochemical mapping by 2018-19 and geophysical mapping by 2021 an official said here on Thursday.
"GSI has taken a quantum jump in mineral exploration... my priority has been to give more and more auctionable blocks to the Central and state governments " GSI Director General Dinesh Gupta told reporters.
"We are carrying out geophysical and geochemical mapping. Because the area is big making it time consuming we have prioritized the OGP (obvious geological potential) area of 0.571 million sq km to work on " he added.
The GSI has achieved a geological mapping with a coverage of 99.35 per cent. It has also covered 9.3 lakh sq km area by geochemical mapping by March 2018 while coverage under geophysical mapping was 5.89 lakh sq km by the end of the same timeline.
According to a statement emphasis was given by GSI for intensification of exploration for low-volume high-value minerals such as gold diamond basemetals and energy critical elements and others.
However GSI is engaged in exploration for bulk minerals as well.
The organisation also intensified its exploration of Strategic Minerals and established resources of Gallium from Meghalaya and Titanium ore from Jharkhand. Besides Potash and Phosphorite resources augmented by GSI will reduce the import dependence of the country for fertilizer minerals.
It is also working on national landslide zone mapping in all the landslide-affected states for which it has collaborated with British Geological Survey and Natural Resources Canada Gupta said adding that 1.71 lakh sq km area has already been covered and the remaining would be covered by 2020.
"We are preparing the systematic mapping of different landslide vulnerable zones of different states. Already 60 per cent of work is over and we will prepare the map soon. In that we identify which areas are more susceptible to landslides. We are installing advance warning system " he said.
GSI had launched project Uncover India in association with Geoscience Australia in 2016 for probing deep seated and concealed mineral deposits with the help of advanced geophysical techniques and mineral system approach in two areas of Indian peninsula - parts of Aravalli and Bundelkhand Cratons in Rajasthan Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh and western and eastern Dharwar Cratons in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.

--IANS bdc/him/vm