The real story of KGF: The people of Kolar used to dig out gold by hand, the British were stunned to see; 900 tonnes of gold extracted in 121 years

Apr 14,2022

'Salaam Rocky Bhai' will once again resonate in theaters from today. Kannada director Prashanth Neel's film KGF-2 is releasing today. Superstar Yash's film is based on gold mines located in Kolar, Karnataka. You may have seen the first part of KGF, but you hardly know the real story of the mines of Kolar.

KGF stands for Kolar Gold Fields

Kolar district is located in the southeast region of Karnataka. Robertsonpet is a tehsil, 30 km away from district headquarters. There is a gold mine here. Kolar is about 100 km from Bangalore. The Kolar Gold Field is the second deepest gold mine in the world, the first being the Poneng Gold Mines of South Africa. Which is located southwest of Johannesburg in South Africa.

people used to dig out the gold by hand
British government lieutenant John Warren had heard the legends of the Chola dynasty that people used to dig gold by hand. Impressed by this, Warren told the villagers that the one who will show gold from this mine will be rewarded. In the greed of getting the reward, the villagers brought a bullock cart full of mud in front of Lieutenant Warren.

When the villagers washed the soil with water in front of Warren, traces of gold were seen in it. At that time, Warren got about 56 kg of gold out. A lot of investigation was done from 1804 to 1860, but nothing much was done. Many people lost their lives due to this research. Due to this excavation was banned there.

Research started again in 1871 in Kolar

Michael Fitzgerald Llewelly, a retired British soldier who came to India from New Zealand, was very excited about the Kolar Gold Fields after reading a report published in the 'Asiatic Journal' in 1804. He thought why not start it? Level decided to stay in Bangalore. In 1871, Leveli traveled by bullock cart for about 100 km. During the journey, Levelli identified mining sites and was successful in finding gold deposits.

Leveli sought a license to conduct mining in Kolar in 1873 from the government of the Maharaja of Mysore, after completing two years of exploration. On 2 February 1875, Llewelly got the license to mine, but Michael Llewelly did not have much money, so he looked for an investor and the work of mining fell into the hands of John Taylor and Sons, a large British company. Much of his time was spent raising money and preparing people to work. Eventually, the work of extracting gold from KGF started.

India's sixth place in gold production in 1905

John Taylor and Sons took over the mining operation in 1880. 'State of the Art' Mining Engineering Equipment installed. The equipment installed by him in 1890 lasted till 1990 i.e. was operational for 100 years. In 1902 KGF used to extract 95 percent of India's gold, in 1905 India was sixth in the world in producing gold.

There used to be big problems in gold mining

Mining operations in the 1880s were extremely difficult. Earlier, there used to be light only in selected places, so there was no lift anywhere. There were sharps to go into the mines, which were supported by wooden beams. Despite this, sometimes accidents happen here. It is believed that 6000 people died in 120 years of operation.

To meet the shortage of light in the Kolar Gold Fields, the Kaveri Electricity Station was built at a distance of 130 km from Kolar. This power plant was the second power station in Asia and the first in India. After getting electricity, the work of Kolar Gold Field doubled. This center was constructed at Shivanasamudra in the Mandya district of Karnataka. Due to gold mining, KGF started getting priority instead of Bangalore and Mysore.

Kolar was called Mini England

After the gold mining started in Kolar, the appearance here changed. Along with mining, development also came here. Here bungalows, hospitals, golf courses, and clubs were built for British engineers, officials, and others around the world. The place was very cold and their people started building houses in British style. With this construction, KGF started to look like Mini England.

But for those who worked in the mine, the situation was not like in England. He lived in Coolie Lane, where facilities were few. Many families lived in the same shed and their life was very difficult. This place was famous for its attack on rats. It is said that the workers living here had killed about 50 thousand rats in a year.

Government control over KGF in 1956

In 1930, about 30 thousand laborers used to work in Kolar Gold Field. When the gold reserves in KGF started depleting, the workers also started leaving Kolar. Although KGF was occupied by the British till independence, after independence in 1956, the central government decided to take control into its hands. At the same time, the ownership of most of the mines was handed over to the state governments.

The mines that produced 95% of India's gold were nationalized to avoid closure. By 1979, there was a lot of loss and they were not able to pay even the wages of the workers. The Kolar Gold Fields was closed in 2001.

Kolar Gold Field is ruined

There was once so much gold coming out of KGF that the need to import our country was negligible. Ever since KGF was closed, the burden of importing into India has been increasing. The tunnels which were dug to extract gold are now filled with water. The mine is in ruins. Despite the orders of the government and the court, no one revived KGF again. It is believed that KGF still has a lot of gold, but the cost to extract it is more than gold.

Modi government indicated to reopening KGF

After its closure in 2001, KGF remained at a standstill for 15 years. In the year 2016, the Modi government indicated to start work again in KGF. In the year 2016, the tender was asked to start the auction process for KGF. At present, all the indications regarding KGF are in cold storage. It is not yet known what happened to the announcement.

If the Kolar mine reopens, what will be the impact…

India ranks second in gold consumption after China. There is still a lot of gold left in Kolar. The opening of KGF will also be important because the way demand for gold is increasing, it can be met from there. This will also reduce the burden on the country a little. According to the Gems and Jewelery Export Promotion Council, India imported 1067.72 tonnes of gold in 2021. Due to the import of gold, there is a burden on the pocket of India. In such a situation, if the Kolar mine reopens, then some of the burdens can be lightened.

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