Amid the ever increasing demand for Gold comes news from India of plans to reopen a mine first cut over 100 years ago. The mine located near Bengaluru produced around 25 million ounces of Gold during its working life however it was closed due to changing economic conditions in 2001 which created less favourable conditions for Gold extraction.

The area where the mine is located has a long history of gold extraction with the early Indus valley civilisation extracting Gold from the area and mentions being made of the mines by the early Roman historian Plinny, who referenced Gold traded along the Silk Road as originating in the area. By 1905 India had found itself as the leading producer of Gold in the world and the mines first cut in the 1880’s were well developed. The mineral wealth of the area saw the city of Bengaluru, then named Bangalore, being one of the first cities in India to receive electrification.
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Nationalisation of the mines followed India’s independence in 1947 and a slow decline in the mining industry ensued leading to the eventual closure of the mine in 2001. Today however the ever increasing demand for Gold from sources as diverse as the jewellery sector, technology and industrial uses coupled with the stockpiling of reserves by countries such as Russia and China has led to a renewed interest in former mines that may still have profitable deposits.

India itself hopes to be able to meet some of its ever growing demand for gold, which has become second only to China in terms of global demand, with its own home mined products. Current Indian production only amounts to around 2 tonnes annually meaning India makes no appearance in the list of top Gold producers in the world at present.
Modern technology has changed the mining industry with exploration and extraction now being less of a wild goose chase and more a focussed art with increasing yields the result. Machinery has reduced the workload and increased the volume of material able to be processed further adding to the appeal of reopening these old mines.
If the proposed reopening takes place the Indian government hopes to be able to cut its annual import bill of $35 million and begin to re-establish India as a major producer of gold for world markets.

Image Credit: By Adu65