Twenty-four year Durgappa Harakeri, a BA dropout residing in Attikatti village in Gadag is no different from other lads of this impoverished north Karnataka region. He had many reasons to discontinue his studies. They include an irregular bus service, the need to support his ageing father and earn for his eightmember family besides paying back loans taken from the local money lender who helped the family after a crop loss.He was set to migrate to Goa or Mumbai to work as a construction labourer this year like many other youth when the news came of a gold mine being set up in the village with a 3,000 strong population. What lies beneath the surface could turn out to be a bonanza for people of Attikatti including Durgappa.
"I have dropped my plan to move out of the village. The mining company has already hired me on daily wages to dig trenches in the mining area. I hope to get a confirmed job once the plant is set up," says Durgappa.
With Ramgad Minerals and Mining Pvt Ltd (RMMPL), a firm which is part of mining major Mineral Sales Private Ltd (MSPL) Group obtaining a license to mine gold ore in the reserved forest near Jellikatti village and proposing to set up a gold processing unit and tailing point near Attikatti village 20 km from Gadag town, there is a spurt in activity in the once sleepy villages of Attikatti-DoneeJelligeri and a couple of Lambani community hamlets in the belt.
The frequent visits of `camp sahebs' (RMMPL officials) in their flashy cars to the mining area and talk about the proposed gold plant have left local people with hopes of earning a livelihood when the gold plant is set up.
Attikatti villagers and the Lambani hamlet tribals are willing to part with their rain-fed agricultural land for the gold processing and tailing point but they insist that their conditions should be fulfilled.
The villagers are demanding from RMMPL what they did not get from elected governments till date. The demand list includes facilities for education, healthcare, sanitation, civic infrastructure, employment and ensuring that the environment is not affected and the people do not suffer health hazards due to mining.
RMMPL has already acquired around 80 acres of farming land, 40 acres each for the processing plant and the tailing point compensating each acre with Rs 1.85 lakh. But many of the farmers have used the compensation to pay back their loans and renovate their houses.They are now waiting for the daily wage jobs offered by the company and hope to get confirmed jobs once the plant is set up.
Except for a few, most of the remaining farmers belong to the scheduled castes and economically weaker sections. The youth are more than willing to part with their land to get a job in the gold factory, something the elders do not approve of. The elders have their reasons: bore wells dug in their farms are drying up and the situation may deteriorate when the company digs bore wells in the forests to get water for the plant.
62-year old Erappa Hanumanthappa Hittalamani says he hopes for a better future for the next generation. "But there are some dangers associated with mining such as the use of cyanide. The company should ensure the safety of not only people but also livestock."
"We are convinced that the gold plant will improve our living standards. But our consent is strictly tied to some conditions. If the RMMPL overlook these conditions, we will launch a satyagraha opposing the plant." ---Erappa Hanumanthappa Hittalamani Farmer of Attikatti
"I sacrificed my source of livelihood -- 10 acres of land -- to RMMPL to see my tiny village in the country's map as a producer of gold. I hope there is a golden age awaiting this backward region after the gold plant comes up." ---Halanagouda Basavanagouda Patil who handed over his 10-acre plot for the plant.
"Gold mining is a meticulous process and an expensive venture. But we still promise that the entire Gadag region will see prosperity and economic growth. Care will be taken to protect the environment".... B.L. Jain, vice-president, Gadag Gold Project, RMMPL
The discovery of gold ore deposits in and around Gadag is not a recent phenomenon. Kapatthgudda and Jelligeri hill range have always been rich with minerals such as gold, manganese and iron ore.
Smelling a fortune, local gold diggers are still searching for the precious metal using various means: during the rains, they place sieves in the water coming down the hills and collect grains of the precious metal which they sell to local goldsmiths. They also take up sub-surface mining wherever they strike gold veins.Local traders still go to villages in Shirahatti taluk to buy gold stone from the villagers.
Presently, the Karnataka governmentowned Hutti Gold Mines Ltd (HGML) with mining operations in Raichur district is the only gold producer in the country with proven gold ore reserves of 31.02 tonnes. The more famous Bharat Gold Mines Ltd (the Central-government owned agency located at Kolar Gold Fields), is now defunct.
RMMPL obtained a license for gold mining for the first time in the country ending the monopoly of public sector units over gold mining. Government has sanctioned 39.7 hectares to RMMPL in the reserved forest hill range near Jelligeri village and the company is awaiting clearance from the Union ministry of environment and forests to begin mining and start its gold processing plant by 2010.
According to authorities, RMMPL is planning a 1,000 tonne per day mine near Jelligeri and a matching processing plant in nearby Attikatti. It has found economically viable deposits that have low grade gold ore of 2.4/2.5 gram per tonne which will be treated in the processing plant to get 1.9/2 gram per tonne after the recovery.
Allaying fears over the gold mining and processing plant, Mr B.L. Jain, vice president, Gadag Gold Project, RMMPL, in an interview with Deccan Chronicle, gave details of the company's plans. Excerpts.Mining has always threatened the environment. Your venture is another blow to the reserved forest in Gadag.First let me make it clear that we are not taking up mining in Kappatgudda hill range that has endangered flora and fauna. We are permitted to mine near Jelligeri reserve forest area that is 30 km away from Kapatgudda hill and also some distance away from Tungabhadra River. In fact, three environmental surveys have been done by reputed institutions covering a buffer zone of 10 km surrounding the mining area and processing plant and these reports have been submitted to MoEF for clearance.
After all, this is not a factory, there will be no chimneys, no smoke and the amount of dust will be minimal which will be managed by sprinkling water.
The use of cyanide in gold processing has sparked fear among the locals. How will you discharge it?Our plant will be most modern and will use the same process which has been adopted by Hatti Gold Mines. We will have a detoxication plant to recover gold.The cyanide content in the slurry will be .2 part per million that is much lower than the permissible limit. We will put bentonate and black cotton soil in the tailing point. The plant is designed on a zero discharge model where not a single drop of water will go out. After decantation, water will be circulated back to the plant.So people need not be concerned about the discharge of decanted water into the ground and its effect on the soil.How much production is expected from this mining venture?This is an experimental plant which is being set up at a cost of around Rs 60 crore. We have marginal deposits of 2.4 gram gold per tonne ore in this area. Initially we will go for open cast mining down to 40-60 metres and expect to extract 2.5 lakh tonne ore per year and later increase it to 3 lakh tonne. If the venture is found to be economical, we will go for underground mining.How will the plant benefit people?It will generate employment for 100 unskilled people and indirect employment for 300. In addition, we plan to adopt the village and provide all civic amenities to improve the social status of the villagers.
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