Editor’s Note
This report details the approval of a new gold mining project in Katni district, marking a significant economic development for the region. The initial agreement has been signed, though operational details and potential impacts are yet to be fully assessed.
Katni. The lyrics of the song “My country’s soil yields gold, yields diamonds and pearls…” are about to come true on the land of Katni. Imalia village, under Sleemanabad tehsil and Dhimarkheda Janpad Panchayat, is soon going to glitter with the shine of gold. A gold mine has been approved on approximately 15 acres of land here. A moment of pride arrived in the district’s history when a Mumbai-based company recently signed an agreement for mining with Collector Ashish Tiwari. Since then, there is an atmosphere of excitement in the village and the entire district.
Villagers informed that there has been knowledge of the presence of gold in the village for the last nearly 50 years. The location where gold is present is known by locals as ‘Sunahi’. Even today, four-five old wells exist here. Elders say that during British rule, the English used to extract metal through these wells, but at that time, the innocent villagers were not aware that the English were extracting gold. The district is now on the path to glitter with the shine of gold. An agreement has been reached between the government and Mumbai-based Prospect Resources Minerals Pvt. Ltd. company to extract the buried gold reserves in Imalia village of Sleemanabad tehsil.
It should be noted that on September 18, Chief Minister Dr. Mohan Yadav, during a program in Badwara, referred to Katni as ‘Kanakpuri’ from the stage and shared information about the gold reserves in Imalia village. Following this, the mining agreement was signed on the very first day of Navratri. After this agreement between the company and the government, there is an atmosphere of joy and hope among the villagers. They believe that now the village’s identity will be recognized at the national and international levels. This will also create new employment opportunities. The agreement for a 50-year mining lease was signed between the company’s director, Avinash Landge, and the authorities. With this, the name of Katni district has been officially registered on India’s gold map.
Through the e-auction process, the company acquired this mineral lease by bidding 121 crore rupees. Under this, mining rights have been granted on 6.51 hectares of land located in Imalia village, Sleemanabad area. This will be Madhya Pradesh’s first active gold mine. According to the mining department, the estimated annual production from the Imalia Gold Block is 33,214 tonnes. The total gold mineral reserve is 357,789 tonnes, with 335,059 tonnes being mineable. Copper is 271,632 tonnes, with 254,439 tonnes being mineable. Lead-Zinc is 388,726 tonnes, with 364,031 tonnes being mineable. Silver is reported to be 386,468 tonnes. According to the technical report, an average of 1.13 grams of gold is expected to be extracted per tonne of ore.
The journey of discovering this mine started in 1974 and was completed in 2025. Examination of samples taken from over 70 drillings and borings confirmed the presence of gold and other valuable minerals here. In 2020, the lease received in-principle approval, and in October 2023, the mining plan received final approval. Until now, large-scale gold mining was only happening in the Kolar and Hatti areas of Karnataka. With the start of the Imalia mine, Madhya Pradesh will also be included in this list. Villagers say that the wells at the site where gold was discovered were built when the wage was 6 paise. During the survey, separate pits were dug. It is a matter of joy for us that gold will be extracted from the village. This will also change the picture of the village.
Ratnesh Dixit, District Mineral Officer.