The iron mine found in Hili, Dinajpur, is being analysed. In one month, it will be ascertained if iron extraction from the mine will be profitable or not, said Geological Survey Bureau (GSB).
A leading official of GSB, said: “We are now assessing the samples from the mines; hopefully, the tests will be done within one month and we will know if it’s going to be feasible to extract iron or not.”
The official further added: “We have high tech testing equipment here but since they are not used regularly, the machines have shown technical problems; there is a machine which costs Tk 10 million but to fix the problem, Tk 8 million is needed.”
Recently, GSB has said that an iron layer has been found within 1300 and 1650 feet.
The mine’s size may be 10 square km. But to ensure this, several other wells need to be excavated.
The first samples were tested by Institute of Mining, Mineralogy and Metallurgy, which showed 60-70 percent iron.
Senior scientist, Pradip Kumar Biswas, says: “From the samples given to us, we found 60-70 per cent iron oxide; usually, iron can be extracted if there’s 50 per cent iron oxide. To be sure about the expansion of the mine, new wells need to be excavated.”
If the expansion is less, the mine may not be profitable; earlier, GSB found a limestone mine but it was declared financially unviable.