Hyderabad, Aug.7 (RAHNUMA): The Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) has taken another significant step towards exploring gold and copper deposits in the Devadurga Block, spread across Raichur and Yadgir districts of Karnataka.
After securing the exploration licence for the block through the Government of India’s mineral auction process, SCCL has now signed an agreement with the Karnataka Department of Mines and Geology (DMG) to formally commence exploration activities.
The agreement was signed on Friday at the Karnataka DMG office in Bengaluru by its Director Rangappa and SCCL Director (Projects & Planning) K. Venkateshwarlu. Under the agreement, SCCL will undertake exploration of the 199.13 sq. km Devadurga Block within five years.
Speaking on the occasion, Venkateshwarlu said that while SCCL had earlier secured the exploration licence for the gold and copper deposits in the block, the agreement marked the formal commencement of exploration operations. “Key officials had already been appointed for the project, while the remaining officers and staff would be deployed shortly.
SCCL aims to complete the G4-stage exploration within the next two years,” he said.
Venkateshwarlu noted that this was the first time in SCCL’s history that the company was undertaking mineral exploration on such a large scale outside Telangana. Drawing on SCCL’s more than 130 years of geological and exploration experience, he expressed confidence that the project would be successfully completed.
He also thanked the Karnataka government and the department of Mines and Geology for their cooperation and support.
