The geological potential of India to host gold resources is globally well known but exploration to realise the potential is grossly inadequate. This paper is an attempt to take stock of India?s Resource-Base (Reserves + Resources) of gold and it?s potential to support development of new gold mines in the near future. More than 700 ancient workings and about 200 gold prospects are spread over 12 States in the country. The Mineral Inventory by Indian Bureau of Mines indicates a resource of 654.74 tonnes of gold metal as on 1.4.2015. As per the compilation made by the author the Resource Base in the country, as at the end of March 2019, is 670 tonnes plus a Prognosticated Resource of 198 tonnes of gold metal. The annual mine production of gold is in the range of 2-3 tonnes in the last decade. Only one major gold mine located at Hutti in Raichur District of Karnataka and two of its satellite mines are in continuous operation. India is a major consumer/importer of gold to sustain its huge jewellery industry. The drain on foreign exchange reserve is to the tune of 40 billion US$ annually to import about 800t of gold. Almost all the gold occurrences, prospects and deposits in India are sited in greenstone-belts, Mesoproterozoic fold-belts and, to a minor extent, in Mesoproterozoic Sedimentary Basins. An attempt has been made in this review to present State-wise, geological belt-wise and Prospect-wise Resources and Reserves. Apart from the few prospects which have been adequately investigated, hundreds of prospects and gold occurrences spread over the country await detailed exploration involving investment of thousands of crores of rupees for defining and/or augmenting the resources and converting the known resources into mineable reserves through feasibility studies. At Rs.4000 per gram, many among the 200 known gold prospects in the country could be developed as small operations under MSME model with distinct possibility of several of them eventually developing into largescale operations like at KGF and Hutti.The recent reforms in the Policy and amendments to the Act are inadequate in so far as mineral exploration is concerned specifically precious metals. Fast-tracked implementation of the Act & Rules has been the need since decades to enable investors to freely and effectively operationalise their planned programmes of exploration and mining. Gold Exploration and Mining deserves to be dealt with under a separate National Authority-Precious Metals Authority of India (PMAI)), on par with Coal, Steel & Hydrocarbon because of huge domestic demand for gold of the order of 800 to 1000 tonnes per annum and the important role gold plays in the economy of India. PMAI would serve to facilitate and focus private investment, including FDI and, for fast tracking the currently stagnating exploration and development of new gold mines in the country.
Gold Resources of India: Immense Scope for Development of New Gold Mines
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The geological potential of India to host gold resources is globally well known but exploration to realise the potential is grossly inadequate. This paper is an attempt to take stock of India?s Resource-Base (Reserves + Resources) of gold and it?s potential to support development of new gold mines in the near future. More than 700 ancient workings and about 200 gold prospects are spread over 12 States in the country. The Mineral Inventory by Indian Bureau of Mines indicates a resource of 654.74 tonnes of gold metal as on 1.4.2015. As per the compilation made by the author the Resource Base in the country, as at the end of March 2019, is 670 tonnes plus a Prognosticated Resource of 198 tonnes of gold metal. The annual mine production of gold is in the range of 2-3 tonnes in the last decade. Only one major gold mine located at Hutti in Raichur District of Karnataka and two of its satellite mines are in continuous operation. India is a major consumer/importer of gold to sustain its huge jewellery industry. The drain on foreign exchange reserve is to the tune of 40 billion US$ annually to import about 800t of gold. Almost all the gold occurrences, prospects and deposits in India are sited in greenstone-belts, Mesoproterozoic fold-belts and, to a minor extent, in Mesoproterozoic Sedimentary Basins. An attempt has been made in this review to present State-wise, geological belt-wise and Prospect-wise Resources and Reserves. Apart from the few prospects which have been adequately investigated, hundreds of prospects and gold occurrences spread over the country await detailed exploration involving investment of thousands of crores of rupees for defining and/or augmenting the resources and converting the known resources into mineable reserves through feasibility studies. At Rs.4000 per gram, many among the 200 known gold prospects in the country could be developed as small operations under MSME model with distinct possibility of several of them eventually developing into largescale operations like at KGF and Hutti.The recent reforms in the Policy and amendments to the Act are inadequate in so far as mineral exploration is concerned specifically precious metals. Fast-tracked implementation of the Act & Rules has been the need since decades to enable investors to freely and effectively operationalise their planned programmes of exploration and mining. Gold Exploration and Mining deserves to be dealt with under a separate National Authority-Precious Metals Authority of India (PMAI)), on par with Coal, Steel & Hydrocarbon because of huge domestic demand for gold of the order of 800 to 1000 tonnes per annum and the important role gold plays in the economy of India. PMAI would serve to facilitate and focus private investment, including FDI and, for fast tracking the currently stagnating exploration and development of new gold mines in the country.
Publication Mode |
Online |
---|---|
Publication Author |
V. N. Vasudev |
Publication Language |
English |
Publication Type |
Conference Paper |
Publication Year |
2021 |
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