Kolar Gold Fields
Kolar Gold Fields, 1908
City in the south-east of Kolar District, Mysore State, situated on a branch railway (10 miles long) from Bowringpet, between 12degree 50' and 13degree o' N. and 78 degree 18' and 78 degree 21' E., to the east of a low ridge of hills, of which Betarayan (3,199 feet) is the most conspicuous point. Area, 15 square miles; population (1901), 38,204. In 1891 the population was only 7,085, and the entire city has come into being since 1887.
The existence of gold in this region had long been known, and there are traces of old workings. Mining was attempted, but without success, in the time of Tipii Sultan, and in 1802 Lieut. Warren examined and reported upon this gold tract. In 1873 Mr. M. F. Lavelle obtained from the Mysore government exclusive mining rights for twenty years, and sank a shaft near Urigam in 1875. But finding that large capital was needed for carrying on the work, he transferred his rights in 1876, with the approval of the government, to a syndicate known as the Kolar Concessionaires, to whom 20 square miles were leased for thirty years on more favourable terms. In 1881 the aid was secured of Messrs. John Taylor & Sons, mining engineers in London ; and Captain B. D. Plummer, a miner of great experience, commenced operations at the Nundydroog mine. These came to an end for want of funds in 1883, and the outlook for the whole field was of the gloomiest. The Mysore mine still had £13,000 left. On the strong advice of Mr. John Taylor, Captain Plummer was sent out as a forlorn hope in December, 1883, to do the best he could with this amount. Before long he had the good fortune to discover the Champion lode, and by 1885 the success of the Kolar gold-field had been established. Many changes had meanwhile been made in the terms of leases, which had the effect of both encouraging the industry and giving the State a legitimate share in the profits. The Kolar Gold Fields now yield nearly all the gold produced in India, and some of the mines are among the richest in the world. To the end of 1904 the total value of gold produced was 21 millions sterling, and there had been paid in dividends 9 millions, and in royalty to the Mysore*. State one million. The nominal capital of the eleven companies at work at the end of 1904 was 2 1 millions sterling, valued in the London market at about f)\ millions. Of these companies, five (Mysore, Champion Reef Ooregum, Nundydroog, and Balaghat) paid dividends, and five pro- duced gold but paid no dividends. The dividends paid by the first five averaged 74 per cent, on their paid-up capital, but for individual companies it came to 145 per cent, for the first and 169 for the second. The number of persons employed in 1904 was 510 Europeans, 415 Eurasians, and 27,000 natives. The wages paid in the year amounted to 70 ½ lakhs or £470,000.
The following improvements have been carried out by the State for the promotion of the Gold Fields. In 1894 was opened the branch railway from Bowringpet junction, passing through the mines. In 1899 a Sanitary Board was formed, composed of three ex-officio and four non-official members, the latter nominated by the Mining Board and approved by the State. The Special Magistrate is ex-officio president. In 1900 the Gold Fields were formed into a separate police district, together with the Bowringpet, Maldr, and Mulbagal taluks. A number of Sikhs and Punjabis have been recruited, and in 1904 the force con- sisted of a European Superintendent, 50 subordinate officers, and 726 constables. The number of grave crimes reported was 488, of which 70 per cent, were detected. Co-operating with this force, especially for prevention of gold thefts, are also 6 European supervisors, with 315 native watchmen under them, and 4 Punjabi jemadars, with 125 Pun- jabi watchmen. In the middle of 1902 the Cauvery power scheme commenced supplying electric power to the mines from the Cauvery Falls at Sivasamudram,' 92 miles distant. Since August, 1902, there has been uninterrupted transmission of 4,185 horse-power. So satis- factory have been the results that a further supply of 2,500 horse- power, applied for by the mining companies, was installed in 1905, and 2,000 additional to this is being arranged for. The power is also being applied to the working of saw-mills at the mines. A scheme for an efficient water-supply, drawn from the Betmangala tank on the Palar river, 6 miles to the east, was finished in 1905. The water, filtered by the Jewel system, is pumped to a reservoir at the new town, and each mine can draw its supply from the main laid through the fields. The State undertakes to supply a million gallons a day to the mines, and an additional half-million if found necessary. Churches, a club, an hotel, large shops, &c, had been erected at various times, but since 1895 the necessity of laying out a new town for the popula- tion of the Gold Fields was recognized. Roads and wells were gradually made, and land acquired. In 1901 a final plan was adopted for the town (since named Robertsonpet, after a former Resident), which extends north and south to the east of the Gold Fields. Con- nected with it are cooly colonies, providing sanitary dwellings for the workpeople. Between the residential and bazar sites has been reserved an open space for a park or public garden.
This article has been extracted from THE IMPERIAL GAZETTEER OF INDIA , 1908. OXFORD, AT THE CLARENDON PRESS. |
Note: National, provincial and district boundaries have changed considerably since 1908. Typically, old states, ‘divisions’ and districts have been broken into smaller units, and many tahsils upgraded to districts. Some units have since been renamed. Therefore, this article is being posted mainly for its historical value.
2023
Samdani MN, Oct 7, 2023: The Times of India
Closed now, Kolar Gold mine was far bigger
The Kannada blockbuster series of KGF films has made Kolar Gold Fields a household name in the past few years. While the films are set in the 1970s and 80s, the mines are centuries old. The Cholas are said to have tried their hand at gold mining here more than 1,000 years ago. However, British industrialist John Taylor III really turned Kolar’s tap on in the 1880s.
His company, John Taylor & Sons, operated the Kolar mines from 1880 to 1956, when they were nationalised. To run the mines, Kolar even had electricity before the rest of India.
By the time operations at Kolar were shut in 2001, due to a sharp fall in international gold prices, the mines had yielded about 900 tonnes of gold. But Geomysore’s managing director, Dr Modali Hanuma Prasad (in pic), says KGF would have again become profitable had the Centre borne the losses for two years. Kolar mines still have gold reserves, he believes.
India’s only significant gold producer now is the Hutti mine in Karnataka that was revived in 1947. Since then, it has produced nearly 2 tonnes of gold per year.
