Mines & Minerals in the district

Situated in the North Chotanagpur region, Gumla district is endowed with rich mineral deposits, occupies a prominent place in the mineral resource map of Jharkhand that contributes significantly to the state’s Gross Domestic Product. The district fulfils the domestic and overseas demand with huge reserves of Bauxite & Stone mines, Laterite (Aluminium ore), stone,sand, ordinary earth etc. Bishunpur, Chainpur and Ghaghara blocks are home tosignificant reserves of Bauxite, Stone mines, & Laterite (Aluminium ore) in the district. Bauxite & Stone mines, Laterite (Aluminium ore) mines in the district are the primary source of livelihood for majority of the Blocks name Bishunpur,Ghaghara and Chainpur’s population.

In Gumla district there are 23 Bauxite mines and 68 Stone mines. Besides these there is good number of brick makers. A total number of 1549 labourers are engaged in Bauxite & Stone mines. In the mining sector. The per capita income of a labour is about Rs. 65/- per day. In Gumla District the important minerals like Bauxite and Laterite (Aluminium ore) are found in villages of Amkipani, Langdatanr, Chirodih, Jalim, Narma, Bahagara and Gurdari of Bishunpur block, Langatanr, Lupungpat and Chota-Agiatu in Chainpur block and Harup, Serengdag and Jalim in Ghaghra block. There are Twenty one Bauxite mines in Gumla district . Beside these china clay is also found in some part of the district. Other mining activities like stone crusher, Brick kiln and stone chip mining lease are also available in different part of the district.

The majority of the forest range of Gumla is dotted with several mines of varying production capacities. Some of major mining agencies operating in the district are Central Bauxite & Stone mines, Laterite (Aluminium ore)fields Limited, NTPC. Apart from above mentioned companies, Private and State PSU Companies like Hindalco is the major mining agencies operating in the district. their Bauxite & Stone mines, Laterite (Aluminium ore) mines allocated under Bauxite & Stone mines, Laterite (Aluminium ore) Mines Auction Rules in the district.

The district’s mining sector contributes significantly to the state economy, however, there exists a discrepancy between the natural abundance of minerals found in the district and a corresponding development of the local communities. Despite being a mineral rich district and having mining related benefits to the economy, Gumlah is performing poorly on most of the human development indicators. Gumlah’s population still lives below the poverty line, with the worst sufferers being the marginalized groups of rural communities. Gumlah is home to a sizeable tribal population, including, adim jan jati, Asur etc a particularly vulnerable Tribal Group who are totally dependent on forests and agriculture for their livelihoods and survival. As per the Census 2011, Scheduled Tribes constitutes 68.94 % of district’s population with 03.17 % as Scheduled Castes.

Detail of Geological Exploration carried out in Jharkhand (During 2014-15)

“Jharkhand holds a very large potential of Bauxite amounting to a reserve of 117.54 MT (Source-IBM as on 1/4/2005)” - these deposits are found mainly in Lohardaga, Latehar and Gumla districts and the adjoining plateau region. Deep forest cover makes these areas inaccessible. Suitable communication channels are not there. In 2016-17, Jharkhand produced 2,289,825,000 tonnes of Bauxite.

Mining of Bauxite & Stone mines, Laterite (Aluminium ore) is currently operational in 03 blocks of Gumla district namely- Bishunpur, Gahghra, & Chainpur.

Bauxite and laterite (aluminium ore) is found in “villages of Amtipani, Langdatanr, Chirodih, Jalim, Narma, Bahagara and Gurdari of Bishunpur block, Langatanr, Lupungpat and Chota-agiatu in Chainpur block and Hanrup, Serengdag and Jalim in Ghaghra block. The total number of bauxite mines is twenty one”. In Gumla district the mines are operated manually/ semi-mechanised methods. After blasting, manual sorting and sizing of bauxite from the run of mine ore is practiced in the mine.