Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu inaugurated commercial gold production at Jonnagiri in Tuggali mandal, Kurnool district, on Wednesday, in what state officials are calling the first instance of a private company mining and producing gold commercially anywhere in India. Naidu also laid the foundation stone for a second production unit at the same site, signaling plans to scale up output quickly.
The project is being developed by Geomysore Services India Pvt Ltd in partnership with Deccan Gold Mines Ltd, which together have invested roughly Rs 405 crore in Jonnagiri to date. State ministers Kollu Ravindra, Nimmala Ramanaidu and TG Bharat attended Wednesday's launch alongside the Chief Minister, after the venture cleared trial production runs that preceded the move to full commercial output.
Gold mining in India has historically been dominated by a single name: the Kolar Gold Fields in neighboring Karnataka, which produced gold for over a century before government-run operations there shut down in 2001 as reserves dwindled and costs climbed. Since then, India has relied overwhelmingly on imports to meet domestic gold demand, even as the country remains one of the world's largest consumers of the metal for jewelry and investment. A private operator bringing a new mine into commercial production reopens a chapter of the industry that had been largely dormant for two decades.
Geomysore's plans call for roughly 2 tonnes of annual gold production at full capacity, with the venture expected to generate around 700 jobs in the Kurnool district. Andhra Pradesh will collect a 4% royalty on the value of gold produced; officials estimate first-year output at about 400 kg, which would translate to roughly Rs 57 crore in royalty revenue for the state government.
For Andhra Pradesh, the launch fits into a broader push to position the state as a destination for mineral and mining investment beyond its traditional strengths in agriculture and coastal industry. If Jonnagiri's production scales as planned, it would give the state a rare and durable revenue stream tied to a metal India otherwise imports almost entirely, while testing whether private capital can succeed where state-run mining wound down two decades ago.
