Project under the PAK-US Science & Technology Collaboration Program

Project Title:  Integration of Geological, Geochemical and Remote Sensing Data for Finding Source Rocks for Gold in the Northern Areas of Pakistan

This project intends to find the source bedrocks for the gold mineralization and related environmental issues in the northern areas of Pakistan. The occurrence of gold grains in the placers along Indus and Gilgit rivers in northern areas of Pakistan, suggest the existence of source bed rocks containing gold mineralization in the high altitude mountain ranges in the northern areas. The exploration of gold bearing rocks in these inaccessible terrains through advanced geochemical and geo-informatic tools is the main aim of this study. Gold washing/panning has been a practice for a long period along the Indus and Gilgit rivers in northern areas of Pakistan. These gold washers use primitive tools for extraction of gold from the Indus sands.  Mercury is used in pan amalgamation for the extraction of gold from stream deposits along Indus and Gilgit rivers. Pan amalgamation in the small-scale gold panning and extraction activities are considered to be releasing considerable amount of mercury to the environment due to inappropriate smelting practices.