Dr. Navin Goyal, with an M.Sc. (1985) and PhD (1992) from Panjab University, Chandigarh. He is an exploration geologist with over 35 years of experience in mineral exploration at the Atomic Minerals Directorate for Exploration & Research (AMD), where he primarily focused on uranium, critical minerals including rare metal/rare earth exploration. His extensive field experience encompasses Gujarat, Rajasthan, Bihar, Jharkhand, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya and Assam, demonstrating his adaptability and deep understanding of Indian geology. He has completed his doctoral research on geochemistry and geochronology of Himalayan granites. He possesses expertise in geological mapping, resource estimation, borehole planning, and geochemical analysis. He joined GMRICS in January 2025 after superannuating from AMD as Head, Mineralogy-Petrology-Geochemistry Group, and is currently engaged in Copper Project, Ambaji, supervising the exploration activities. Dr. Goyal has got about fifty publications.

C. S. Gupta obtained M.Tech. in Applied Geology from Dr. H.S. Gour Vishwavidyalaya, Sagar, and M.Phil. from Vikram University, Ujjain. He served GSI from 1989 to 1996 in the Special Mineral Project (Gold, Diamond, and Tungsten) and was instrumental in proving the gold deposit in Sakoli Basin, Bhandara district, Maharashtra.

He joined the Atomic Minerals Directorate for Exploration and Research (AMD) in 1996 and served in various capacities as Project In-charge for Lesser Himalaya Investigations of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. With over 34 years of experience, he has directed extensive exploration programs for uranium deposits in the Mahadek sediments of Meghalaya and the Siwalik Group of rocks of Himachal Pradesh, as well as in the carbonatite-bearing Proterozoic metasediments of the Shillong Group of East Khasi Hills, Meghalaya, and the Paleoproterozoic Bomdila Group of rocks of West Siang, Arunachal Pradesh.

He was honoured with a medal and certificate by DAE for his contributions in conducting the ‘Public Hearing’ related to the Kylleng–Pyndengsohiong–Mawtahbah (KPM) uranium project in Meghalaya. He has authored around 25 publications of national and international repute.

He joined GMRICS as Project Manager (Geology – II) in August 2025 and is leading the exploration activities at Kadipani, Chhota Udepur District, Gujarat.

Uday Prakash Sharma obtained M.Sc. (Geology) in 1986 from Banaras Hindu University, UP. After pursuing research work at BHU from 1987 to 1991, he joined the Atomic Minerals Directorate for Exploration and Research (AMD) in 1991.

Having worked in AMD for more than 32 years for the exploration of atomic minerals, RM and REE, he was instrumental in developing various uranium deposits, i.e. Tummalapalle-Rachekuntapalle, Gogi, Devri-Pakni and Wahkut. He served in multiple capacities as an exploration geologist, Project Manager, and Deputy—Regional Director in Telangana, Karnataka, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra.

He has published around 80 research papers in various national and international journals and conferences. He is a life member and fellow of the Mineralogical Society of India, Mysore; the Mining Geological Society of India, Nagpur; the Indian Society of Remote Sensing, Dehradun and Shillong; and Current Science, Bengaluru. He has coordinated numerous exploration training programmes for AMD students from various universities. He was honored with the “DAE Group Achievement Award” in 2018 for his contributions in developing the Wahkut uranium deposit in Meghalaya.

He joined GMRICS as Project Manager (Geology-III) in July 2025 and is leading the team for exploration activities of Bauxite, limestone, bentonite and other critical minerals in the Kutch region.

Rajesh Tiwari is an M.Tech. in Applied Geology from Dr. Hari Singh Gour University, Saugor, MP (1986 batch). He is an exploration geologist with nearly 39 years of distinguished service in the field of mineral exploration, Coal Mining, and Mine Block evaluation. Starting his career with the Indian Bureau of Mines, he worked with Mineral Exploration Corporation Limited for 18 years. He later served with Jindal Steel & Power Limited for 5 years, where he monitored national and international coal projects. He developed the Gare IV/2 & 3 coal block from the exploration stage to the operational stage. He had conducted due diligence on various coal blocks in Indonesia, Australia, South Africa, and the USA.

He has conducted technical evaluations of various coal blocks and served as Mine Agent (Head of Mine) at the Talabira 1 operational coal mine in IB Valley, Odisha, with GMR Energy Limited. Further, he worked with Adani Power Limited as Head of Mine and subsequently with Maheshwari Mining Pvt. Limited, where he was involved in the exploration and preparation of the Geological Report of the Barra Coal Block within one year.

Mr. Rajesh Tiwari joined GMRICS in August 2025 as Project Manager, Coal and has been posted at the GMDC Regional Office, Bhubaneshwar.

A. K. Sharma, with an M.Sc.(Tech) Applied Geology (1986) from Nagpur University and Post Graduate Diploma in Environmental Science and Management (2001) from Central University, Hyderabad, joined AMD in October 1988.

He has 35 years of experience in the field of petrology, ore mineralogy, process mineralogy, physical beneficiation, uranium hydrometallurgy, residue characterisations and pure mineral separation. He has carried out petro-mineralogical studies on rock samples from different parts of the country with an emphasis on rock nomenclature, alteration, deformation and uranium ore mineralogy. He also carried out ore liberation and mineralogical estimation on samples from various uranium deposits in Rajasthan, Karnataka, and Jharkhand. He was involved in beach sand investigation for the recovery of ilmenite, rutile, garnet, sillimanite, zircon, monazite, apatite, and xenotime from river sand. His area of expertise also includes separation and isolation of pure zircon, monazite, uraninite, molybdenite and pyrite for mineral investigations. A. K. Sharma has about 25 publications.

He joined GMRICS as Project Manager (Ore Beneficiation) in July 2025 and is supervising the establishment and operationalisation of an onsite ore beneficiation laboratory at Copper Project Ambaji, Gujarat.

Ms. Kusum Prakash obtained her M.Sc. degree in Geology in 1985 and M.Phil. in Sedimentary Petrology in 1986 from Karnatak University, Dharwad. She worked for more than three decades in the Petrology Laboratories of various regions of the Atomic Minerals Directorate for Exploration and Research (AMD). Her expertise encompasses rock characterisation, identification of radioactive and non-radioactive minerals, polymetallic ore minerals, RM & REEs and their genesis from multiple geological domains of Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Meghalaya, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh.

She has investigated copper & gold in the Kaladgi Basin, including spodumene, zircon, tourmaline, fluorite, garnet, and apatite, as well as syngenetic and endolithic microbial remains in uraniferous and non-uraniferous Limestone in Karnataka. She has published around ten research papers in national and international journals and presented her work at various conferences.

She joined GMRICS in August 2025 as a Dy-Project Manager at Copper Project, Ambaji.

C. L. Nayak possesses a Diploma in Civil Engineering (1993) from Vidya Bhavan Rural Institute, Udaipur. He joined Atomic Minerals Directorate for Exploration and Research (1998) as surveyor, after gaining experience in surveying in highways projects in contractual services. He is a qualified geological and exploration surveyor with over 30 years of experience in conducting topographical surveys and locating boreholes in AMD. He is proficient in tacheometric survey equipment including Distomat, Total station, GNSS RTK (DGPS) systems to deliver accurate and reliable survey data. He is good in using software like AutoCAD, Datamine, GIS and Surfer. He joined GMRICS in October 2024 and is currently engaged in tacheometric surveying, borehole location, and mining related surveys at Copper Project, Ambaji.