Treasure in tailings: India is taking a look at methods to spice up gold output

New Delhi: India is exploring new methods to spice up home gold manufacturing, together with extracting it from mine tailings, amid expectations that bullion costs will proceed to understand, officers mentioned.

Worldwide gold costs surged 6.7% in early September to round $3,750 per ounce, after a 4% improve in August, with persistent geopolitical issues and purchases by central banks fuelling the rally. Domestically, 24-carat gold costs surpassed ₹1,14,000 per 10 gm earlier this month, from ₹95,000 per 10 gm in Could.

India is a big importer of the yellow metallic, with its annual imports ranging between 650-1,000 tonnes over the previous decade.
“Now we have reviewed different strategies to extend gold manufacturing. Since ore availability is a problem, the federal government is specializing in selling strategies such because the extraction of the valuable metallic from tailings,” a senior official advised ET on situation of anonymity.

Gold tailings refers to particles remaining after the extraction of gold from ore, a wonderful powder that incorporates traces of gold and different valuable metals. Different metals, equivalent to zinc and copper, are additionally discovered with gold, and “we are attempting to extract extra of those metals additionally”, the official added.

Extraction from tailings is an costly course of however with larger costs, projected to go up additional, it could actually show to be commercially viable. Gold is principally extracted from its ore, however different methods, equivalent to extraction from tailings, can increase manufacturing with valuations on the rise.Nevertheless, specialists have identified that the mechanisation of mining on a big scale is required for scaling up gold extraction.

“We have to transfer from labour-intensive shallow strategies to mechanised ones,” mentioned Abhijit Kulkarni, senior partner-metals & mining, EY-Parthenon India, including tailings retreatment via trendy strategies can enhance gold recoveries.

India produced 1.62 tonnes of gold in 2024-25 valued at about Rs 1,255 crore, in line with the mines ministry knowledge, with Karnataka main the states in manufacturing, whereas the remaining output got here from Andhra Pradesh and Jharkhand.