DIGGING FOR DESI GOLD

India's first private gold mine commences operations in June, helping India cut its gold import bill

- Prasad Nichenametla

THE FAMOUS KOLAR GOLD FIELDS in Karnataka, once India’s most productive mines, shut down 25 years ago. Now almost all of the gold extracted domestically—less than 2 tonnes per annum—comes from the Hutti Mines at Raichur in Karnataka, barely enough in a country where households count among the top consumers of gold in the world. To meet the voracious demand, some 750 tonnes of the precious metal is imported annually, largely driven by the jewellery market.

Call it opportune, but this is perhaps why the inauguration of India’s first privately operated gold mine is making so much news, especially with imports of the yellow metal being a conspicuous target in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s austerity message to the nation. The Jonnagiri gold mine is not far from Hutti, in neighbouring Kurnool district in Andhra Pradesh’s rocky, arid Rayalaseema region.