India can still extract gold: KGF miners to PM

BENGALURU:  The Indians’ love for gold has cost the country dear as the imports of the yellow metal have shot a  hole of Rs 3.4 trillion in forex reserves this fiscal. Now, a group of gold miners from Kolar Gold Fields, home to the famed gold mines that shut operations in February 2001, have come together and written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, detailing how this money can be saved by extracting over 100 tonnes of gold per annum from Indian mines.

They said that when gold mining was stopped at KGF it was because only 3 gm of gold could be extracted from a tonne of ore which was not economically viable. That was when the price of gold was Rs 5,000 per 8 gm, but now the price has gone up ten times to Rs 50,000. Even with the 3 gm yield, the extraction can be economical as the production costs are still low as compared to the price of gold.

They said gold veins are still available from KGF till Chigurgunta and on the other side, till  Srinivaspur. KM Diwakaran, the former chief engineer of Bharat Gold Mines, said a study can be taken up to trace the gold veins and they can be extracted for a few decades till it is economically viable. This will not only save foreign exchange, but also ensure jobs to two lakh miners, he said.

Diwakaran, who comes from a family of three generations of professional gold miners, explained that with the latest technology, gold can even be extracted from mountains of debris and residue left behind in KGF and Hutti Gold Mines through a simple process. It can yield an average of .7 gm of gold per tonne of waste.

They said gold deposits have been found in Kempinkote, Gadag and Ajjanahalli in Raichur close to the Hatti mines. They should be scientifically explored, he added.