These are accumulated over millions of years.

Islamabad: Pakistan has struck gold, literally, large deposits and reserves of the precious yellow metal have been discovered along the Indus River in the Attock region of Pakistani Punjab.

A Pakistani academic, Ibrahim Hasan Murad, who has served in the caretaker government of Punjab, Pakistan, including as provincial minister for Mines and Minerals, announced that 2.8 million tolas (about 32.6 metric tons) of gold were found in the Attock area. There are deposits.

The value of these gold reserves is estimated at 600 billion rupees (Pakistani rupee). According to reports, these deposits are spread over an area of ​​32 km from Attock to Tarbela and Mianwali and were identified through research by the Geological Survey of Pakistan.

These large deposits of gold have accumulated over millions of years where the Indus and Kabul rivers meet near Attock, Punjab. Experts say the gold is mainly visible during the winter months when water levels are low, appearing as bright particles mixed with river sand.

But there is a huge controversy over the proper exploration and development of these resources due to which these promising results are still futile as senior officials of the Department of Mines and Minerals have allegedly denied proper exploration and development of these resources. have resisted efforts to

Instead of prospecting for gold, top officials are reportedly favoring the allocation of these areas for stone and sand zinc mining operations.

Also, it is the many cases of illegal gold mining that led the Punjab Home Department to ban unauthorized gold mining from the river.

Native peoples have always practiced placer mining, which means the process of extracting and separating heavy-cut minerals like gold from sand or gravel.

The state government is trying to completely stop illegal mining in the river.

According to the documents, gold deposits in the upper reaches of the northern regions are reported to reach the bed of the river Indus in Attock with the rapid flow of water. According to a report in The Dawn, when the water level in the river recedes during the winter season, the people of the area have traditionally been illegally extracting gold particles and eventually heavy diggers were involved in this unauthorized mining.

“After completion of necessary formalities in PMC Rules 2002 and approval of necessary amendments for auction of placer gold, after obtaining environmental clearance from Punjab Environment Department, the management department to start auction of placer gold deposits by this December. Totally committed. year,” a senior official was quoted as saying by The Dawn.