The year was 1871. Michael Fitzgerald Lavelle, a retired Irish soldier from the British Army, had made Bangalore cantonment his home. Retirement was a drag for Lavelle, who had just returned after fighting the Maori wars in New Zealand.
Although he hoped to make it big post-retirement, Lavelle spent much of his time reading; and a four-page article from the 1804 Asiatic Journal he came across, set Lavelle on a journey that eventually birthed the world’s second deepest goldmine – the Kolar Gold Fields.
While 2018 movie ‘KGF’, touted as the biggest Kannada movie of the year, has built curiosity about this forgotten mining town, and India’s gold rush, the makers admit the movie isn’t a historical account but a work of fantasy. However, this pales in comparison to the real story of the Kolar Gold Fields.
Lavelle had developed an interest in gold mining during his time at war in New Zealand. So, he was understandably excited, when an old report by one Lt John Warren spoke about possible gold reserves in Kolar.
Lt Warren’s encounter with Kolar gold began in 1799, after erstwhile ruler Tipu Sultan was killed in the battle of Srirangapatnam by the British.
The British decided to handover Tipu’s territories to the Mysore princely state, but for this land had to be surveyed. Warren, who was then serving in his Majesty’s 33rd regiment of foot, was summoned to Kolar for this task.
Warren had heard rumours of gold reserves and fables of people digging gold with their bare hands, during the time of the Chola dynasty.
Intrigued by the rumours, he announced a reward for anyone who could show him the yellow metal. Soon, villagers appeared before him with bullock carts filled with mud, which they washed in front of the officer to isolate gold powder.
After an investigation, Warren concluded that for every 120 lbs or 56 kg of earth, one grain of gold could be extracted using the villagers’ crude methods and in the hands of professionals, this could open up large gold reserves.
“Should we still fancy for the belief that gold occurs only on a narrow region? Why can’t the gold veins under the ground near Maarikuppam extend far beyond.” he wrote.
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