Balochistan Govt Urged To Develop Mineral Sector

The social activists and local political leaders Thursday urged the Balochistan government to formulate an effective strategy to develop the unexplored potential of the minerals sector

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 13th Jan, 2022 ) :The social activists and local political leaders Thursday urged the Balochistan government to formulate an effective strategy to develop the unexplored potential of the minerals sector.

"The government needs to accelerate minerals' exploration activities, besides giving a task to geological survey of Pakistan (GSP) to map 50 Toposheets of 'outcrop area' to identify hidden resources in Balochistan," said Shams Hamzazai, a local political leader.

He said Balochistan was rich in mineral reserves as the Tethyan Copper Belt was located in Chaghi district of the province that had tremendous economic mineral potential as "a number of promising ore deposits including of copper (along with associated gold and silver), iron, lead and zinc had already been discovered.

He emphasized that the provincial government should step up efforts to explore hidden treasure to boost revenue as some districts including Loralai were declared as marble cities.

Baz Gul Kakar, a social activist, stressed the need for taking effective measures to uplift the marble sector to facilitate the investors and help empower underprivileged locals economically.

He said the exploration of minerals would ensure the well-being of the dwellers of mineral-rich districts by creating employment opportunities in the province.

While contacted, an official of Balochistan government said the government had established new regional offices of mines and minerals at Muslim Bagh, Harnai, Mach, and Gwadar to ensure good governance and facilitation of the mining companies.

The Balochistan government, he said had also established Mining Testing Laboratory at a cost of Rs 182 million. It would help in guiding miners in exploration, quality assessment, and improved production.The initiative would lead to increase revenue generation in the province, he added.

"The government was paying special focus on the mining sector to boost revenue of the province," he remarked.