Can India Change The Future Of Gold Mining?

By Author: divyamjoshi
Total Articles: 9
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India heavily relies on gold imports to meet its gold demand is an open secret. The disparity in the demand and supply of gold has made companies to rely on imports to meet business needs. Despite the huge demand of the precious metal for weddings and festivals, as well as people buying gold as an asset for saving purposes, the country has been witnessing a slump in the gold consumption over the years.

Before the outbreak of the pandemic, India saw physical gold being consumed by the GenX, however, the COVID-19 situation has brought forethe millenials attention towards saving. Digital gold and buying gold and silver online for saving purposes seems to be an easier process than physically holding it. However, the older generation still shies away from making an investment online.

Augmont- the country’s first ever gold integrated ecosystem is trying its best to ensure digital gold as well as physical gold demand increases and the young realizes the true worth of investing in the yellow metal. The company operates a world ...
... class refinery and has the technical capability to meet all the demands to produce world class products with the best finesse and purity.

If statistics and reports are to go by then India has immense scope for gold mining and it is a field widely untapped. As per the official records of Indian Mineral Federation, around 13% of the country’s land which closely amounts to 575,000 sq km of land, has only been explored for the mineral resource potential. This speaks of the huge untapped land available in India for gold mining.

However, it’s the law and order of the country as well as the bureaucratic process prevalent that is a huge deterrence for investors to invest in gold mining in the country.

India, in 1993 India opened its doors for foreign companies and private players to explore various minerals and metals. India’s mineral potential is no secret as it was centuries ago. In 2003, the findings of gold deposits in Ganajur got everyone excited. The 40 metre wide gold-bearing zone can be mined like an open ire-ore pit unlike the Kolar Gold Fields. This huge prospect has brought everyone’s attention to the fore.

The NarendraModi government’s efforts to put up the mineral areas or even the lack of it for bidding has been received neutrally by investors and companies alike. Some claim it completely ignores the rights of the companies that hold mining land under the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 2015. India produces an estimate of 1.4-1.6 tonnes of gold and imports close to 800-900 tonnes of gold which is worth at $33 billion of foreign exchange in 2018-19.

Despite technological advancement, mining operations prove to be a great hazard to the environment. The country by far has seen the most ever environmental degradation due to unscrupulous industrial laws that tends to favour the capitalists at the behest of the environment. Therefore, the future of mining in India though is a ray of sunshine and will open new doors of opportunity, the law enforcers and environmentalists will have to be on a constant vigil to ensure that newer and sustainable methods of gold mining are used which have the least impact on environment in the years to come.