Andhra Pradesh has begun commercial gold production for the first time, with a new mining and processing unit at Jonnagiri in Kurnool district now fully operational. The project, built at a cost of around Rs 405 crore, was formally inaugurated this week and marks a rare entry for any Indian state into large-scale gold mining, an activity long dominated by a handful of mines elsewhere in the country.
Officials say the Jonnagiri site sits atop one of the few proven gold reserves in southern India, and the new plant is designed to process ore into refined bullion on-site rather than shipping raw material elsewhere. The state government has pitched the project as proof that Andhra Pradesh’s mineral wealth, often overshadowed by its coastal economy and IT ambitions, can be turned into a serious revenue stream.
Beyond the headline investment figure, officials are pointing to the jobs the mine is expected to create in a district that has historically depended on agriculture and has seen years of youth migration to cities for work. Direct employment at the mine and processing unit, along with a wider set of ancillary jobs in transport, security and services around the site, is expected to benefit thousands of local families. The state will also earn royalty payments on every tonne of ore extracted, adding a new and recurring line to its revenue.
The launch comes as the state pushes a broader industrial and mining agenda under its long-term Swarna Andhra 2047 vision, which sets out ambitions for the state to be prosperous and globally competitive by the time India marks a century of independence. Mining, along with semiconductors, green energy and infrastructure, has been repeatedly flagged as a priority sector in that plan.
Environmental groups and some local residents have in the past raised concerns about gold mining’s impact on groundwater and land in mineral-rich belts, and officials will need to show the Jonnagiri project meets its environmental commitments as production scales up. For now, the state is treating the mine’s opening as a milestone, one it hopes will encourage further mineral exploration across Andhra Pradesh’s under-tapped geology and attract fresh private investment into a sector that has rarely featured in the state’s economic story before.
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