Kolar Gold Fields (KGF)

About Kolar Gold Fields (KGF):

• KGF (once known as ‘Little England’) is a mining area in the Kolar District of Karnataka, 100 km from Bengaluru.
• It is estimated that gold has been mined in KFG for over 2000 years.
• KGF’s modern success is generally attributed to the firm John Taylor & Sons, after John Taylor III took control of the mines in 1880 and established what was at one time the deepest and most productive gold mine in the world.
• KGF was the first Indian city to be electrified in 1902.
• At its peak, KGF was home to 30000 mine workers and their families and was a multiethnic community with experienced miners recruited from around the world.
• The mines were run by the company up until 1956, when they were taken over by the Government of Mysore, who employed John Taylor & Sons as mining consultants.
• Although the annual production in some years was more than 95 percent of India’s gold output, the mines declined and finally closed in 2001.