The Geological Survey of Bangladesh (GSB) has discovered an iron mine at Dinajpur’s Hili after almost two months of survey and digging. Although it’ll take another five to seven drillings to determine the amount of iron underground, the surveyors have also found traces of precious metals such as copper, chromium and nickel.
A fifty-member GSB team has been carrying out drilling operations at Hili Upazila’s Alihat union since Apr 19 for a possible iron mine.
“We found iron ores at 1300 feet underground,” GSB Deputy Director General Mohammad Masum told Bangla Tribune.
He added that they found three iron ores amongst which 72 percent is magnetite.
“The sub-surface samples that we collected showed presence of good quality iron ores,” he said.
Masum said that they found iron ore at 400 feet between a depth of 1300 to 1750 feet depth and found iron ore over 4 feet" which is the first of its kind in Bangladesh.
“We hope that even if the range is within 5-10 sq km, then it can be included in the world's top five underground mining areas."
Saying that traces of copper, chromium and nickel have been found, he added that they’ll need to do more digging within a 5-10 square kilometre radius.
GSB Drilling Engineering Deputy Director Masud Rana said that if the iron is fit for commercial use, it will contribute greatly to the country’s economy.
He added that they can start the rest of the work after June and that no traces of gold have been found as a few media outlets reported.