The gold mining series- a blessing and a curse

December 2020 – January 2021

India is both blessed and cursed.  It is blessed with a geography that can make it rich with gold and other precious metals and rare earths.  But it is cursed with a bureaucracy which has wrongly guided policies that make gold mining difficult if not impossible.  Gold mining could benefit India in so many ways.  But that requires a fresh outlook, and a willing government.  Are both possible?

The four part series of articles on this subject examines the issues involved.

Part I — India’s blighted vision about gold mining

Gold prospecting and mining requires skill and luck. It is found in exceptionally low concentrations in rocks. It is difficult to discover them and much more difficult to define their source and resources. The success rate of discovery is 1 in 400 to 1 in 800 prospects.

http://www.asiaconverge.com/2020/12/indias-blighted-vision-about-gold-mining/

Part II — A sightless government isn’t even aware where gold is and in what forms

A good gold mining policy could redeem India. Currently it is caught between a government that does not listen, or even knows how much gold India has,  and a bureaucracy that is wondrously adept at misleading politicians. India could thus be damned to remain a gold importer.

http://www.asiaconverge.com/2020/12/the-govt-wont-tell-anyone-where-gold-mining-is-possible/  

Part III —  A colonial outlook has stunted India’s gold-mining sector

Corruption takes many forms.  In India it often arises from the power to deny the right to wealth generation, or even peace of mind.  Gold mining has been afflicted with that malaise.  Bureaucrats changing rules, denying what is logical, and refusing to do what is good.

http://www.asiaconverge.com/2020/12/gold-mining-part-iii-a-colonial-outlook-has-stunted-indias-gold-mining-sector/

Part IV – An agenda for the government

A sagacious government would not have been a dog in the manger. It cannot mine #gold effectively itself; . It has already closed down one of two mines in India. It cannot beneficiate mountains of ore fo gold tailings. And it doesn’t encourage #goldmining and redevelopment.

http://www.asiaconverge.com/2021/01/gold-mining-iii-agenda-for-the-government/