The Bhutanese Leading the way.
The Department of Geology and Mines (DGM) and its geologists, surveyors and staff have been keeping very busy in recent times looking for Gold, Tungsten, Copper, Graphite, Limestone, Iron Ore, Lead, Zinc, Coal, Rare Earth Minerals and anything else they can find in major field surveys, including ongoing tests of samples.
However, despite four teams in the field there is only so much that limited manpower and field surveys can do, especially in a mountainous country with many areas in thick forests, high mountains and steep gorges.
3 months of aerial survey
In an effort to extensively map out Bhutan’s mineral wealth, DGM has secured Nu 700 million (mn) from the government to do aerial surveys of the country using magnetometer and LiDAR or laser scanning equipped helicopters. The survey will be done by an Australian company.
A senior DGM official said that the aerial survey will start soon, and will take around 3 months of flying covering all areas at 10,000 feet or below, which is most of the country covering the south, west, central, east and even northern regions. Areas above 10,000 feet will require sturdier helicopters and maybe done at a future time.
The flying done will be low altitude flying done in a grid wise manner. The magnetometer will pick up magnetic variations in the area below caused by different minerals and the laser scanning will help in creating 3 D maps, identify geological features and estimate volumes.
After three months of flying, experts will sit and analyze the data to come up with a comprehensive mineral map of Bhutan in another 9 months, making it a 12-month project.
According to DGM, aeromagnetic surveys are particularly useful in mapping of poorly exposed areas that are covered or concealed by soil, vegetation, glacier, water bodies, sand, alluvium and colluvium, as magnetic methods provide an integrated depth spectrum or anomalies of the rocks and mineral deposit sources at great depth of tens of kilometers.
This map will give Bhutan a good idea of areas with mineral concentrations, and further explorations can be carried out on the ground. The studies will give Bhutan a good idea of its mineral wealth, and then the government can decide which sites to mine and how it will be mined.
The aerial survey is important as currently, only about 34% of the country is geologically mapped on 1:50,000 scale through field based mapping which is not only inadequate overall, but also has its technical limitations. This limited information on the mineral wealth of Bhutan is the biggest drawback to development of mining in Bhutan.
However, as mentioned in the beginning, DGM is not just waiting for the two helicopters, but is already doing mineral surveys and prospecting in earnest.
The department has been pouring over past mineral data archives and has been sending out teams all over Bhutan to collect samples and test it or send for testing.
While most of Bhutan is still not mapped for minerals, there are some indications for the presence of certain minerals across Bhutan. The big question is, if these are present in quantities that are economically viable for extraction.
Valuable minerals
Among the minerals possibly present in Bhutan, the most promising is copper. There are possible deposits starting in Gongkhola which is a part of both Sarpang and Trongsa, and heading up to Surey, Reti and into the Black Mountain areas of Trongsa.
A high value metal is Tungsten with its presence in Dholpani and Bhurkhola in Sarpang. The technology is better now and the aim is to see if it will be worth extracting.
The presence of Iron is there in Mauree in Dagana, Nyamchapongjuk in Zhemgang and Damchu in Thimphu.
Graphite is there in Chelea on the Haa side, and potentially in Chapcha, Chukha too. The graphite in Bhutan is not crystalline which can be used in EV batteries, but it can still be used for high temperature applications like filaments of light bulbs, etc.
Lead-Zinc is in Ratepani in Sarpang, Romegangri and Chakula in Thimphu.
Gold is known to occur with copper, and there is potential in Gongkhola in Sarpang and Trongsa and Kuri Chu in Lhuntse which is being explored apart from other sites in Samtse, Chukha and Sarpang. Gold has been disappointing so far with 10 out of 11 samples being negative, and only one sample having faint traces which is not viable. The hunt, however, goes on.
With the importance of rare earth minerals, DGM is doing a study in Lhamoizingkha in Dagana for it.
The hunt is on for new Dolomite, Limestone deposits, Quartzite, Coal and also Gypsum with Gypsum being a priority.
The DGM official said the problem with Gypsum is that it is concentrated in one area and so to avoid impacting the settlement there and the Dzong the aim is to look for continuous deposits in farther areas.
In past surveys in Bhutan, there are potential for other minerals too with deposits of Beryllium, Phosphorite, Pyrite, Mica, Asbestos and Talc.
There are also plans to reopen and survey for more slate mines with possible use in the Gelephu Mindfulness City (GMC).
Difference from the past
All of the above does not mean that Bhutan will suddenly discover vast troves of mineral wealth to change the economic face of Bhutan.
DGM and its geologists and staff and external experts in the past were also not sitting idle and kept looking for minerals, but the limiting fact was the lack of a proper mineral map, and secondly the past studies while finding some deposits either did not find them economically viable or more prospecting was not done in a wider area.
An example is the Copper deposits in the Black Mountain area, mainly in Gongkhola, discovered in 1976 by Geological Survey of India (GSI) and later studies in 1985 and 1987 showed 2.5 million tons of copper ore, but it was seen to have limited economic potential in part due to no road and electricity and the terrain. Some traces of gold were also found there, but it was too small to be worthwhile.
Here, the DGM official said that at the time, the technology was limited and GSI could only study 2.5 sq km. He said if the finding is the same then the economic potential is limited, but now the plan is to study the whole Black Mountain area and look for significant deposits that are viable.
Even the four DGM teams out in the field can only survey 630 acres in total.
While it is important to temper expectations, the difference this time is that geological exploration for minerals is being done at a much bigger scale, like never before, using modern technology and huge funds.
Past surveys limitations
According to a DGM report, systematic geological mapping in Bhutan commenced in the 1960s by Swiss geologist Augusto Gansser and geologists from GSI.
To improve knowledge-base on geology and mineral resources of Bhutan, GSI initiated field-based geological mapping on a regional scale (1:50,000) since 1960s. DGM continued the mapping from 9th Five- Year- Plan (FYP) and as of 2020, about 34 percent of the country is mapped.
There was also collaborative mapping carried out by Princeton University and DGM with leading to publications of Geological Map of Bhutan by Gansser (1983), GSI (1995) and Long et al. (2011).
Despite past surveys, the geological information at this scale is, however, sparse and coarse, thus understanding of the geology and mineral resources of Bhutan is limited.
The DGM report by Girones (2019) highlights on incomplete mapping situation of Bhutan. According to the report, large surface and subsoil areas of the country is underexplored and thus true potential on metallogeny is not known.
Further, the report concludes that present status of geological information is a serious drawback for the development of the mining sector.
The report highlights on the need to expedite geological mapping and recommends that the field-based mapping should be complemented by modern mapping techniques, like airborne geophysical survey data and stream sediments geochemical survey data, in order to build comprehensive geological and mineral resources knowledgebase of Bhutan.
Economic transformation and green mining
The DGM exploration is a part of the Economic Transformation Program (ETP) in the 13th FYP where the government has allocated Nu 80 billion (bn) for around 76 projects in key economic sectors spread mainly among the economic cluster of Ministry of Industries, Commerce and Employment (MoICE), Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources (MoENR), Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport (MoIT), Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MoAL), and related agencies and stakeholders.
With the above, mining is one of the key areas and has been given a 13th FYP target to increase its value from Nu 4.6 bn in 2023 to Nu 9 bn in 2029 as a share of the GDP. This means the mining sector has to grow at 11.9% every year.
The DGM official said that mining in Bhutan will be different from other places, as it will be green and done in a sustainable and responsible manner, and Bhutan will look for such partners.
