Wayanad sits on gold mine

Kozhikode: The gold mining history of Wayanad is a potential gold mine for tourism promotion.   There are many areas  in Nilgiri-Wayanad  jungle regions where colonial miners had tried their luck, but with disastrous results financially. According to historical records, there were 41 companies registered in London to explore mining in Nilgiri-Wayanad where geological experts had reported about large-scale gold deposits. In the same period,  another six  companies were registered in India. In 1857, two Australian miners started exploring for gold with the support of British government.   

Noted historian M.R. Raghava Warrier said that gold mining in Wayanad was a craze among British youth in those days. “There were many who evinced interest in the hidden  deposits. These companies had purchased hundreds of acres of land in the region. When the euphoria subsided, the companies started plantations in the land,”  he added. Mr Pranavam Raveendran, spokesperson of  Wayanad Tourism Organization (WTO), told DC that in the NiIgiri region at Devala,  there are local miners who dig up to 500 feet in the caves from  where the colonial miners had left.

“There can be a ‘Gold Tourism Circuit’ linking with Devala where the remnants of trolley rails are still found,”  he added. “A museum on gold mining also can be started,”  he said.  However, the rush of mining enthusiasts to Malabar had ended with the discovery of Kolar goldmines in Karnataka in 1890s. The Geological Survey of India also ruled out the  feasibility of gold mining in Wayanad.

But still the agency believes that there are possibilities in the Nilambur valley. Former south Wayanad DFO K.K. Sunilkumar told DC that  even now there are many youngsters who venture into the forest without permission in search of the gold deposits with some gadgets. “We had come across  many such guys not only in Wayanad but also in the adjacent forest regions who were sent out with a warning,”  he added.