Hutti Gold Mines Hutti is situated in Raichur District, Karnataka State and is 80 KM (50 miles) due west of Raichur, which is also the nearest railway station. Hutti was a small village in 1939, with hardly 60 or 70 huts and kutcha houses. Now there is a town Panchayat, and the population of the village is about 10,000. The population of the labour colony constructed by the Company is about 10,000. History This mine is probably one of the most ancient metal mines in the world, dating to the Pre-Ashokan period, the ancient miners having worked down to a depth of over 600 ft. It is probable they had broken the rock by “fire-setting” i.e. heating it by means of fires and suddenly cooling it by pouring water onto the heated rock causing pieces to break off. As per carbon dating done by Dr. Rafter from Australia in the year 1955, the age of the two samples of timber found in old workings was estimated to be about 1980 years old. For crushing the ore to extract the gold they used a grinding stone similar to those used now for making masalas and a few of which can even now be found in the area. The actual gold was recovered by passing the crushed ore, mixed with water, over goats skins, the fur trapping the heavy particles of gold while allowing the lighter minerals to be washed off. In addition to the ancient mining in mentioned above, there was further mining in the area between 1890 and 1920 when the price of gold was about Rs. 18 for 10 grams (Rs 20.97 per tola). The biggest of these ventures was at Hutti where, from 1902 to 1919, nearly 7,400 kg. Of gold were obtained from very rich ore, at an average yield of 19 gms/metric tonne. Most of this ore came from the main mine, which reached a depth of about 1,100 mts. below surface. The industry closed down in 1920 due to technical difficulties and lack of funds. In 1937, the Nizam’s Government decided to prospect the area again with a view to possible re-opening of the mines (the only industry in the area apart from agriculture) so as to provide employment. The area was a backward district, which was considered at that time to be a more or less perpetual famine area. In 1940, after some satisfactory exploratory work, it was decided to install a plant to treat 100 metric tons of mine ore per day, but before the plant could be obtained, operations were suspended, and from 1942 to 1946, due to World War II, the mine was shut down except for pumping. After the end of the war, the scheme was resumed and production started in September 1948, at the rate of 130 tonns of ore per day. By 1972 this rate had progressively increased to 600 tonnes of ore per day. The Hutti Gold Mines Co., Ltd., Hutti, Raichur District The Company was originally formed in 1947 as the Hyderabad Gold mines Company Ltd., with the Hyderabad State Government holding a majority of the shares. With the re-organisation of the States in 1956, the Company was transferred to Mysore State (now Karnataka State) and became the Hutti Gold Mines Company Ltd.
Posted on: Tue, 11 Mar 2014 07:36:42 +0000
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