Sindh Minister for Mines and Minerals, Manzoor Hussain Wasan, said around 150,000 acres of land has been leased to 1,200 people for development of mining sector because besides huge coal reserves, solid evidences have also been found of gold, copper and iron in the province.
He was talking to media after a meeting of the officials of Mines and Minerals Department of Sindh at his office here on Wednesday. He directed the officials concerned to prepare attractive proposals to attract the local as well as foreign investors for the mining sector in Sindh. Manzoor Wasan directed to review the process to correct the ownerships of lease of land.
He told news persons that the officials concerned of the Department of Mines and Minerals have also briefed him about the performance of the Department. He directed them to prepare strategy to successfully achieve the future targets. He said: "We intend to utilise the natural resources for economic development, bringing prosperity and creation of more employment opportunities."
To a question, he said the Sindh Department of Mines and Minerals receives over Rs 450 million annually in terms of royalty. He also ordered probe into the reported illegal appointments in the Mines and Minerals Department and also constituted a team in this regard.