All over the world, the demand for iron is on the rise, and at present even iron ore with 30 per cent ‘Fe’ content has a market. Such a situation would help Assam and Meghalaya as both states have iron ore which have ‘Fe’ content of 30 per cent or above.
This has been emphasised by noted geologist, Dr Pranavjyoti Deka, who recently handed over a note on this matter to a government agency. He believed it was imperative that the Assam Government took initiative to organise a meet of all stakeholders and experts to formulate a policy and then hammer out an action plan.
He said that ore with low ‘Fe’ content is in demand as part of a blending process in many countries, and in Goa such ore has been mined for export. If the transportation issue can be addressed then similar or better quality iron ore can be exported from Assam and Meghalaya to bring in revenue.
He favoured a thorough survey to ascertain the quality of the iron ore that is supposed to exist in Assam and Meghalaya. He mentioned that till now sizeable deposits have been reported from Karbi Anglong, Goalpara and Dhubri in Assam. Deposits have also been reported from a few sites in Meghalaya of which at least one site contains ‘Fe’ content of over 60 per cent.
On the issue of extracting the mineral from a highly sensitive environment, the geologist said that modern technology can be used to limit the impact on the areas surrounding mining sites. In this regard, he favoured smaller plants which could be connected to railway hubs so that transfer of materials can be done as a seamless process.
Criticising the apathy of the government to do an estimation of iron ore in Assam and Meghalaya, Dr Deka pitched in for a meet of representatives from the Burea of Mines, State government, Ministry of Steel and DoNER. “Let all of them come and help develop the assets in Assam and Meghalaya, which are worth crores of rupees. According to the geologist, a judicious combination of ground-based prospecting and remote sensing could be a sound approach to map the existence of iron ore in the region. He was optimistic that proper surveys would establish the presence of iron ore that is of good ‘Fe’ content in sizeable quantities.