India to mine leftover gold from historic Kolar Gold Fields
India is set to tap into 33 million tons of leftover gold-rich tailings at the historic Kolar Gold Fields in Karnataka.
Mining here stopped back in 2001, but now the government plans to auction off nine massive dumps for extraction, following a green light from Karnataka (date not specified in the source).
New chemical leaching tech will be used
Instead of traditional mining, new chemical leaching tech will pull out about 1gm of gold per ton, plus valuable platinum group metals used in things like car parts.
It's way cheaper (just $1 to $2 per ton) and skips the need for blasting or drilling.
Move could help clean up contaminated land
After more than 20 years, the government is finally acting on confirmed traces of gold in these tailings. The latest budget even set aside funds to maintain the old mines.
This move could help clean up contaminated land, recover rare minerals needed for electronics, and create local jobs, all with less risk than starting a brand-new mine.