In Search Of Gold And Riches

The Story Of KGF (Part 2)

In search of riches, he came to the black sands where richness was buried deep somewhere. KGF was waiting to be explored at his hands, and he did not stop until he found the precious metal that ruled the world. Lavelle had found out about KGF and his stay in India was focused mainly on gold mining. Let’s see how the explorer reached his destination.

As we have seen in the previous part, Lavelle set out on a quest to discover one of the richest places in India. The path to finding the shining metal was not as easy as said.

The story of the discovery of KGF started with Lt John Warren. When Tipu Sultan was murdered by the British in the battle of Srirangapatnam in 1799, the firangis resolved to transfer all of Tipu's real estate to the princely state of Mysore. Before all the properties were shared, a proper survey took place. Warren, who was serving in his Majesty's 33rd regiment, was also summoned to Kolar to inspect the survey work. Warren had heard stories of gold deposits and individuals excavating gold with their bare fists during the Chola empire.

Intrigued by the information, Warren announced a hefty reward for the one who could show him the shiny, expensive metal. Excited at the offer, the villagers came on their bullock carts with tons of mud. Upon washing the dirt, the gold powder was isolated, and Warren finally saw the traces of gold. Warren, unable to believe his eyes, conducted a comprehensive analysis of the region and discovered that one grain of gold could be taken for every 56 kg of dirt. The extraction process was relatively easy as the villagers could easily apply their crude methods, and some mining professionals could further extend their intelligent solutions. Together, this could release large gold reserves.

"Should we still fancy the belief that gold occurs only in a narrow region? Why can't the gold veins under the ground near Maarikuppam extend far beyond." he wrote in the report.

When Lavelle read these lines in a 67-year-old report published by Lt John Warren, he developed an immense interest in gold mining. Though there were a lot of mining explorations and numerous studies in this region between 1804 and 1860, none emerged to be fruitful enough to make an advancement. Since many accidents occurred during these experiments, underground mining was eventually prohibited by law in the 1950s.

In response to a 67-year-old report by Lt Warren, Lavelle led a 60-mile bullock cart journey to Kolar in 1871. During his examination, he discovered numerous possible mining sites. Unlike everyone else, he was competent in tracking down gold reserves. After more than two years of litigation, he appealed to Maharaja's administration in 1873, requesting a mining license. Government officials, who considered that gold prospecting was unprofitable, only permitted him to extract coal, but Lavelle insisted on looking for gold reserves.

"Should I be successful in my search, it will be of the greatest value to the government; in case I fail, it will cost the government nothing as the only assistance I require is the right to mine…" He wrote in a letter to the chief commissioner of Mysore and Coorg.

Lavelle was cunning enough to secure a 20-year lease to mine in KGF. A spokesperson for finding the rich reserves under the blackest and nastiest soil, he started the era of modern mining in the Indian subcontinent. Lavelle soon became a hero rather than a miner involved in obtaining profit by gambling with gold and life. Since he was not rich enough, he couldn't explore the mines further. But this limitation couldn't stop him from becoming a national hero.

His idea of building goldfields and the deadly gambles of mining were the basis for FE Penny's novel, Living Dangerously." This made him a renowned guy, even though his finances were dwindling. However, by 1877, the budding businessman could not expand his firm and was starving for finances. However, another army officer, Maj Gen Beresford of the Madras staff corps at Bangalore, came out in his support due to his popularity. He and three other army officers, McKenzie, Sir William, and Col. William Arbuthnot, formed a syndicate called 'The Colar Concessionaries Company Limited,' which took over the mining operations.

Mining engineers worldwide were asked to drill shafts at Kolar to help with the explorations. However, things changed when the gang, under pressure from its investors, engaged John Taylor and Sons, a business that brought cutting-edge mining expertise to India. The entry of these experts from Norwich, England, marked the beginning of KGF's golden period.

As the KGF's activities advanced, the British planned Asia's second and India's first power plant in Kolar. Officers from the Royal Engineers approached the Maharaja of Mysore in 1900 with a proposal to build a hydroelectric project on the Cauvery River. The Central Electric Company of New York and Eicher Wyss of Switzerland were tasked with constructing the power plant and the world's most extended transmission lines, totaling 148 kilometers. Machines from the United Kingdom, the United States, and Germany were delivered on carts drawn by elephants and horses.

Before Bangalore or Mysore were electrified, the candlelight and kerosene lamps in KGF were replaced with bulbs. While various state regions had power outages in 2018, KGF enjoyed continuous electricity supply by 1902.

Now that we saw how KGF prospered under Lavelle, there came a time when KGF was reduced to nothing but ruins. Stay tuned for the next part, where KGF's downfall led to the emergence of a man that inspired the character of Rocky in the movie KGF.

This story was originally published on ThisDay .