QUETTA: Chief Secretary of Balochistan Mathar Niaz Rana has called for modernisation of the mining sector in Balochistan, saying this is the need of the hour in the natural resources-rich province.

“Balochistan has more mineral resources than any other province in the country,” he said while speaking at a one-day seminar on ‘Establishment of Metal Park in Balochistan’. The seminar was organised by the Ministry of Industries on Tuesday.

The chief secretary said that benefits of development in any sector of the province should go directly to its people.

He said at present work is being done on more than 30 ty­p­es of mineral deposits on a limited scale at about 1,800 places in the province. It could not be expanded due to some unavoidable reasons.

Some of the reasons have been identif­ied by the Provincial Depart­m­ent of Min­e­rals and Mineral Dev­elop­ment, such as limited data on geological resources and lack of mineral development processing units. Because of these reasons important mineral reso­urce development measures could not be taken, he added.

He said the provincial and federal governments are focusing on development of mineral resources. “According to an estimate, Balochistan has 50 per cent of the country’s mineral resources, but its share in the total mineral production is only 5pc. So far work has been done only on 29 of the 50 types of minerals and the share of nine types of minerals is 95pc,” the chief secretary added.

He said in the past there was no allocation of funds for mineral development in the provincial budget.

Published in Dawn, September 15th, 2021

Opinion

Editorial

Judiciary’s SOS
Updated 28 Mar, 2024

Judiciary’s SOS

The ball is now in CJP Isa’s court, and he will feel pressure to take action.
Data protection
28 Mar, 2024

Data protection

WHAT do we want? Data protection laws. When do we want them? Immediately. Without delay, if we are to prevent ...
Selling humans
28 Mar, 2024

Selling humans

HUMAN traders feed off economic distress; they peddle promises of a better life to the impoverished who, mired in...
New terror wave
Updated 27 Mar, 2024

New terror wave

The time has come for decisive government action against militancy.
Development costs
27 Mar, 2024

Development costs

A HEFTY escalation of 30pc in the cost of ongoing federal development schemes is one of the many decisions where the...
Aitchison controversy
Updated 27 Mar, 2024

Aitchison controversy

It is hoped that higher authorities realise that politics and nepotism have no place in schools.