The Kolar Gold Field is the oldest gold deposit in India. These are called fields, ma! KGF – One of the many dunes in the heart of the city – gleams of mellow gold in the evening sun. Even today people dig clay stones near the mines in the hope of gold.
Where is Kolar located?
The Kolar Gold Field gold field is located about one hundred kilometers away from Bangalore, Karnataka state, which is the oldest gold deposit of India, so old, from the Indus Valley Civilization to the British rule, then independent India has been giving plenty of gold. Between 1880 and 2001, that is, in 121 years, about 108 tonnes of gold has been extracted from here.
Kolar Gold Fields owner
Kolar Gold Field has seen many rulers, historical mentions have been given here, gold has been excavated at different times from the first century AD, including the first Gangas, then the Chola Empire between 900 AD to 1000 AD, 13 AD to 16 Vijayanagara Empire up to the century. The period covers the period from the Vijayanagara Empire in the 16th century to the reign of Tipu Sultan, the king of Mysore in the late 18th century. Then from Maratha to Hyderabad Nizam and Vader Ali rulers are included. After that the British ruler has extracted gold from Kolar Gold Khel Field, for centuries the rulers of South India have received huge amount of money from KGF
It is one of the deepest mines in India, where in the decade 1980 to 1990, it was excavated 3 km below the surface of the earth. Only a few mines in South Africa are deeper than this. In the last years of the 19th century, the British mining company John Taylor took over the excavation work and large machines were installed, the need for electricity to run the machine, and in 1902 electricity came in two centuries. Then only Asia Japan Tuki cities used to have electricity, this is the first and oldest hydro electric plant in India. Which was named Kabri Electric Plant.
When electricity started being generated from this plant, more electricity was generated than required, so it was given electricity to nearby cities, and it became the first city in the country to get electricity.
Excavation at such a great depth requires special equipment. So KGF installed the world’s largest drum made in Manchester, England in the 1940s. Electricity was not available in most parts of South India at that time. That company proudly claimed that you could speak directly to John Taylor’s London office from a kilometer deep in the earth.
Most machines installed by the John Taylor Group were in operation until the 1990s, although they were 50 to 100 years old. It was in a way a show of respect to both the original manufacturers and the consistent excellent maintenance of Bharat Mines.
Why was it named Little England
Many British used to live here during the British rule. That is why it was called Little England, because the living here and the atmosphere were similar to England.
After India’s independence, these mines were nationalized in 1956. In 1970, BGML ie (Bharat Gold Mine Limited) took these mines continuously, but after getting success in the beginning, due to many reasons including huge amount of staff. Day by day it dwindled and by 1979, the situation became such that the debt including the company got down in such a way that it became difficult to pay the salary of its staff.
Later it was declared a disease and the staff was reduced from 8800 to 3500, the period of modern excavation lasted from 1880 to 2001, 120 years. In 2001, the state-owned Bharat Gold Mines Limited ceased operations, as the value of the gold excavated every year was not in any way equal to the operating cost. But the existence of KGF is not over yet.
Current situation
In 2016, the Narendra Modi government announced the KGF auction, so it seems that the fate of the South India Electricity City, which is currently in the form of a haunted city, may reopen. It is believed that there is a huge amount of gold in Kolar, then it has become 5 times the value of gold. It is very important to open these mines, we can meet the demand of gold continuously in the country.30 meters of debris from the excavation has become a debris hill, it was formed because the plant is not growing on it. Shiva Shivling is present, and thousands of devotees come here every day to visit.
Kolar – why is it called the city of gold
East from Bangalore, about 100 kms. If you go far, you will find an area which was once known as ‘Little England’. Area names were also in English such as Robertsonpet and Andersonpet. There also used to be a social club with a golf course and swimming pool. Apart from this there used to be world famous hospitals, schools and cinemas. In the 20th century, without this all-terrain gold trade would not have been possible. This was the truth as well.
The place we are talking about is the famous Kolar Gold Fields, which is known as K.G.F. Also known as. 95% of the country’s gold was once produced here. So here is an interesting anecdote from Kolar Gold Fields.
Kolar came into the limelight in the 19th century when gold mines were found here but perhaps very few people would know that its history is 1700 years old.
During 350-1000 AD, Karnataka was ruled by the Ganga dynasty and then Kolar was their capital. Even after leaving this place, the king took the title of ‘Kuvalala-Purareshwar (Lord of Kolar) with him. In 1004, Kolar was ruled by the Chola dynasty. Records show that the gold extracted from the Kolar gold mine was brought to Poompuhar, the famous port of the Chola dynasty, from where it was sold to the merchants of Madurai and other countries.
Before the arrival of the British, whatever gold was extracted from the mine was underdeveloped. Small groups of people used to scrape the surface of gold with the help of iron tools and oil lamps. But John Warren, an officer of the British army, noticed this and understood the importance of Khan.
After Tipu Sultan was killed at the hands of the British at Srigangapatnam in 1799, the British decided to hand over Tipu’s territory to the princely state of Masur. But for this a survey of the land was necessary. Warren was then the commander of the 33rd Infantry Battalion, for this work he was called to Kolar. Warren started the work of demarcation of the princely state of Mysore in 1802. He was surprised to see the activities happening in the local mines. After investigation, he came to the conclusion that one ratt of gold was being extracted from every 56 kg of soil by the way the villagers were extracting gold. He thought that if professional people were engaged in this work, then a large amount of gold could be produced.
Since then for six decades many people (including the East India Company) have tried their luck in finding gold. Various searches were done and studies were done but no one could find a huge pile of gold. This situation changed in 1871. Michael Fitzgerald Lavalle of Ireland, who retired from the British Army, made Bangalore Cantonment his home. He had just returned from the Māori war in New Zealand where he became interested in the mines. Reading John Warren’s old report, he became interested and he traveled a hundred kilometers by bullock cart. After a long journey, reached Kolar.