RAS question
Kolar Gold Fields, once India's largest gold mine, is located in:
Correct answer: (A) Karnataka.
Kolar Gold Fields is located in Karnataka, in the Kolar district.
Explanation
Kolar Gold Fields, or KGF, is in Karnataka, and the Indian Bureau of Mines, Mineral Royalties 2011 document lists gold mining in India at Kolar Gold Field in Karnataka, Hutti Gold Mines in Karnataka, and Yeppamana Mine in Andhra Pradesh. KGF is not a generic gold belt name but a specific mining field in Karnataka. Kolar Gold Field was a major gold-producing centre in India, with some of the deepest gold mines in the world and a deepest mine going about 3 km below the surface. Systematic mining began in the British period, continued until 2001, and KGF was also among the early Indian places to receive electric power from the Cauvery hydroelectric project in 1902.
Why the other options are wrong
- (B) Jharkhand is not the location of Kolar Gold Fields; the separate Hutti Gold Mines are also in Karnataka, not Jharkhand.
- (C) Rajasthan has a different mining context, while Kolar Gold Field is specifically in Karnataka.
- (D) Andhra Pradesh is associated with Yeppamana Mine, not Kolar Gold Field, which is in Karnataka.
Concept
Major mineral resources and mining centres in India are mapped state-wise. RAS repeats such location questions because they connect economic geography with state-wise resource mapping.