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Hyderabad , Sept. 10

THE 152-year-old Geological Survey of India (GSI), which is involved in scanning the depths of the Earth for minerals has now decided to look up to the skies for possible minerals.

It has added the geology of extra-terrestrial space and celestial bodies in its mandate recently. Though, the effort is a bit futuristic, the idea is to gear up technically for any possibility of mining in space or moon or Mars or any other planet, said Dr P.C. Mandal, Director-General of the GSI.

Countries such as US, Russia, China are already in space explorations and India has also firmed up plans for a moon mission. "Like in Antarctica research, where India has been able to establish its clear presence as a force, we would like to grab any opportunities in this space also, the DG of the Kolkata headquartered survey organisation told newspersons.

Another major initiative launched recently by the GSI was the long overdue Geochemical Mapping of India. The ambitious project would take at least 25 years, but could open up a wide range of possibilities in mineral deposits in addition to creating the baseline data of the country's mineral wealth. The project is underway and there would be no dearth of funds, Dr Mandal said.

Though, the GSI is among the oldest geological survey organisations in the world, it has lagged behind countries like Japan, China, Canada and South Africa in geochemical mapping. These countries have also benefited in terms of identification of new mineral rich deposits through such work, he said.

The GSI has completed 98 per cent of geological mapping of the country. It was in the process of networking all its facilities and the database created is being opened up to users at a fee so that the organisation generated funds. It was also in the process of upgrading its laboratories with nearly Rs 64 crore budgetary support provided by the Government, the DG said.

Earlier, inaugurating the national symposium on "Applied Geochemistry in Exploration for minerals and oil," organised by the Indian Society of Applied Geochemists (ISAG), Dr Mandal said the study of the interiors of the Earth for minerals was an important challenge.

He said geochemists can play an important role in providing knowledge that could lead to optimal exploitation of minerals without harming the environment. He citied the examples of arsenic pollution of groundwater in West Bengal, contamination in soft drinks etc and said the question that needs to be answered was how much quantity is toxic and harmful to health and the steps to ensure that it is reduced.

The President of the ISAG, Dr K.K. Dwivedy, in his address said geochemists have to play an important role in water quality checks, mineral exploitation without degradation of environment. He said certain NGO's were in some instances misguiding people on the environmental impact mining.

Referring to the uranium mining project of the Uranium Corporation of India Ltd (UCIL) in Nalgonda in Andhra Pradesh, he said detailed environment impact assessment (EIA) has been done and background radiation information collected by the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE). If the EIA is proper and pollution control norms and safety requirements adhered to, then people need not fear. He urged scientific institutes involved to educate the people on the issue.

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