Gold

• Gold is a valuable metal found in auriferous rocks and alluvial sands of several rivers.
• Gold is used for making ornaments and is also known as an international currency.
• Imports:
  • India imports gold from Australia, Canada, and Myanmar.
  • Countries with significant gold deposits include South Africa, Australia, Indonesia, Canada, Ghana, Chile, China, USA, and Russia.

Gold Reserves in India

• Resources in terms of the metal ore (primary) are located in
  • Bihar (45 percent)
  • Rajasthan (23 percent)
  • Karnataka (22 percent)
  • West Bengal (3 percent)
  • Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh (2 percent each)
• Resources in terms of metal content
  • Karnataka,
  • Rajasthan,
  • Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand, etc.
• Kolar Gold Field (KGF), Hutti Gold Field and Ramgiri Gold Field are the most important gold fields.

Karnataka:

• Karnataka is the largest producer of gold in India, accounting for about 80% of gold production.
• Every district in Karnataka has some reserves of gold.
• The most important gold reserves in Karnataka are found in the Kolar Gold Field, which is the largest supplier of gold in India.
• The Hutti Mine in the Raichur district is the second-largest gold producer in Karnataka, but its ore is of low grade.

Andhra Pradesh:

• Andhra Pradesh is the second-largest producer of gold in India, but lags far behind Karnataka.
• The main gold deposits in Andhra Pradesh are found in Ramagiri in the Anantapur district, but this field is nearly exhausted.
• Apart from gold mines, gold is also obtained as placer deposits in the sands of rivers in Andhra Pradesh.

Jharkhand:

• Jharkhand is the third-largest producer of gold in India, accounting for about 10% of total gold production.
• Placer deposits of gold are found in the sands of Subarnarekha and Sonanadi rivers in Jharkhand.
• Native gold is found in Singhbhum district and in some parts of the Chhota Nagpur plateau in Jharkhand.

Kerala:

• Some alluvial gold is found in the river terraces along the Punna Puzha and Chabiyar Puzha in Kerala.

List of Gold Mines in India

Gold Mines	State
Hatti Gold Mines	Karnataka
Kolar Gold Fields	Karnataka
Lava Gold Mines	Jharkhand
Sonbhadra Mine	Uttar Pradesh
Parasi	Jharkhand
Pahadia	Jharkhand
Kunderkocha	Jharkhand
Bhitar Dari	Jharkhand

Silver

• Silver is a precious metal used in India for religious ceremonies, festivals, weddings, and cultural events.
• It is often found mixed with other metals such as copper, lead, gold, and zinc.
• Silver is used in the manufacture of chemicals, electroplating, photography, and coloring glass.
• India is not a major producer of silver and relies heavily on imports.
• Silver is extracted as a byproduct of electrolysis or chemical methods from lead, zinc, copper, and gold ores.
• Rajasthan is the largest producer of silver in India, followed by Gujarat and Jharkhand.
• The major production of silver comes from the Zawar mines in Udaipur, Rajasthan, where it is obtained as a byproduct of Galena ore.
• Silver is also produced during the refining of gold in Kolar Goldfields and Hutti Gold Fields.
• The Tundoo lead smelter in Dhanbad, Jharkhand, produces silver as a byproduct of lead.
• Vizag Zinc smelter in Andhra Pradesh produces silver from lead concentrates.
• Traces of silver are also found in Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Jammu and Kashmir, and Uttarakhand.

List of Silver Mines in India

• Sindesar Khurd Mine:
  • an underground mine located in Rajasthan
  • owned by Vedanta Resources, which produced an estimated 11,804 Thousand Ounces of silver in 2020. 
  • The mine will operate until 2025.
• Rampura Agucha Mine:
  • an underground mine located in Rajasthan, 
  • owned by Vedanta Resources, which produced an estimated 5,154 Thousand Ounces of silver in 2020. 
  • The mine will operate until 2027.
• Zawar Mine:
  • located in Rajasthan, 
  • owned by Vedanta Resources, which produced an estimated 1,331 Thousand Ounces of silver in 2020. 
  • The mine will operate until 2022.
• Rajpura Dariba Mine:
  • an underground mine located in Rajasthan, 
  • owned by Vedanta Resources, which produced an estimated 1,007 Thousand Ounces of silver in 2020. 
  • The mine will operate until 2024.
• Hutti Mine:
  • an underground mine located in Karnataka, 
  • owned by Hutti Gold Mines Company, which produced an estimated 6.851 Thousand Ounces of silver in 2020.