Govt allocates Rs100 mln to advance Balochistan Toposheets' geological mapping project.

ISLAMABAD -- The government allocated funds amounting to Rs100 million, during the current fiscal year, to advance an ongoing project of the Petroleum Division for the geological mapping of 50 Toposheets of 'outcrop area' to identify minerals potential in Balochistan province.

Last year, an amount of Rs 30 million had been allocated for the project under the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP 2021-22).

'Under the project, 50 geological mappings of Toposheets of Outcrop Area, out of 354 unmapped Toposheets of Balochistan, are being carried out. The geological maps provide a bird's eye view of the surface and (subsurface) distribution of various types of rocks and economic minerals that are found in a particular region,' according to an official document available with reporter.

Through the mapping, the Geological Survey of Pakistan (GSP) wanted to maintain a database for future exploration of the occurrences of metallic and non-metallic minerals potential, dimension stones, aggregates and limestone reserves for the industry.

'These maps are essential for all future detailed geological works including, minerals' exploration, civil engineering, soil surveys, land use, town planning, groundwater, earthquake hazards; environmental geology and soil conservation projects,' the GSP said in the project detail.

Worldwide experience suggests that geological maps of 1:50,000 scale provide the most useful information and meet the basic requirements of the majority of the demands, involving research in 'stratigraphy', structure and tectonics, sample collection for laboratory studies, mineral evaluation and identification of promising areas for further exploration of natural resources.

According to the document, the total outcrop area of Balochistan is 335,360 square kilometer (524 Toposheets) out of which 108,800 sq. km (170...