ABSTRACT
India’s gold deposits occur both as native gold in quartz veins or reefs and as alluvial or detrital gold in rivers. Though the distribution of alluvial gold is widespread, it hardly ever contains sufficient quantity for commercial exploitation. The State of Mysore contains the majority of the country’s economic deposits, the main operations being the Kolar mines and the Hutti mine. The three Kolar mines, Nundydroog, Champion Reef and Mysore are over 90 years old. The Mysore mine is virtually exhausted, and although Champion Reef has payable ore at depths lower than 9,000 feet, estimates of the gold reserves are estimated at about three million tonnes with a possible 3.5 million more capable of development yielding about 5.6 grammes per tonne. The Kolar mines should last perhaps another ten years.
