I mentioned yesterday how global gold production hasn’t fallen much in the face of lower prices.
And this week we got some indications that supply could actually expand. With one of the world’s most famous gold mining districts looking to re-open, for the first time in nearly 15 years.
The place is the Kolar Gold Fields in India. One of the world’s legendary gold mines — with a production history that dates back to 1880.
According to local press, India’s government is very close to putting forward a plan to revive the Kolar. With officials saying they will table the scheme “within a month.”
The effort will reportedly include rehabilitating existing mining infrastructure — which consists largely of underground facilities, some extending two to three kilometres below surface. As well as reprocessing large amounts of gold-bearing tailings left behind by previous mining operations.
The government indicated that much of this work will be put out to tender for the private sector. It’s unclear whether local or international firms would be favored — although previous attempts to tender out the mine have largely attracted attention from local Indian firms.
The district certainly has proven potential, having produced an estimated 25 million ounces of gold over its 120 years of operations. Mining was shuttered here in 2001 on low profitability — and the facility has never operated during the period of historically-high gold prices that’s prevailed over the last 15 years.
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