India looking into restarting colonial-era mines with gold deposits of US$2b

New Delhi

INDIA is planning to revive a cluster of colonial-era gold mines - shut for 15 years but with an estimated US$2.1 billion worth of deposits left - as the world's second largest importer of the metal looks for ways to cut its trade deficit, officials said.

State-run Mineral Exploration Corp Ltd has started exploring the reserves at Kolar Gold Fields, in the southern state of Karnataka, to get a better estimate of the deposits, according to three government officials and a briefing document prepared by the federal mines ministry that was seen by Reuters.