Plans of doubling production at HGMCL hit lockdown roadblock

Raichur: The plans to double the amount of gold extracted at Hatti Gold Mines Company Ltd (HGMCL) have hit a roadblock, with the lockdown putting the brakes on the construction of structures essential to the initiative.
However, the management is confident of meeting its targets, and to this end, it is alternating operations between mining and hoisting at Lingasugur in Raichur district. However, sources said that targets could be revised depending on the situation.
Work at the gold mines ground to a halt on March 25 following Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s announcement for a nation-wide lockdown, but operations resumed on May 4. Officials working on site at the mines said that production had slowed down considerably since merely one-fourth of the workforce had been pressed into duty owing to social distancing norms. As of now, only 1,000 of the over 4,000-strong workforce is employed at the site.
However, HGMCL, the sole gold production company in the country, is not too worried about the prolonged hiatus in operations. To begin with, the enterprise has sufficient gold reserve, which includes unsold inventory in the month of April. The spike in the price of gold too will help its cause.
HGMCL had been planning to double its annual production, which stood at 1,500kg in 2019 to 3,500 this year. The state government-owned company had even commenced construction of shaft and ball mills towards the accomplishment of the objective, and a sum of Rs 420 crore had been invested for the project.
HGMCL managing director Salma K Fahim confirmed to TOI that the private entities to which the construction of new structures at the mines had been entrusted had been hit badly owing to the lockdown. “We have settled all our dues with the private firms. But they have not been able to resume business owing to the disruption in the supply chain. Some of the goods needed for the project need to be brought in from North India, and even abroad,” Salma said.
Salma said that safety was paramount in the current situation. “This is why we have decided to slow down on our production goals. We will have much greater clarity on how much gold we can produce in two months. The company will take stock of the situation and revise its target accordingly,” she added.
Salma said that the engineers were focussing on mining high grade ore, which was how operations were being continued across the world.