Overview
- The Jonnagiri (Swarnagiri) mine was formally inaugurated and moved to commercial operation on Wednesday, June 24, 2026, when the state opened the first processing unit and laid the foundation for a second unit.
- The project, built by GeoMysore/Deccan Gold with about ₹405 crore of investment, uses open‑pit mining with crushing, gravity recovery and carbon‑in‑leach cyanide processing and draws water through an 18‑km Handri‑Neeva pipeline.
- Production is forecast at roughly 400 kilograms of gold in 2026–27, rising to about 900 kilograms the following year and scaling toward one to two tonnes annually as the second processing unit and expansion phases come online.
- Andhra Pradesh will collect a 4% royalty on output, estimated at roughly ₹57 crore at 400 kg and ₹144 crore at 900 kg, while the mine currently employs about 700–800 people drawn mainly from the state and plans local supply to jewellery firms.
- The state and company say the deposit could hold far more than the audited 8.2 million tonnes at 1.49 g/t (about 12 tonnes contained gold), with MERIT reporting Chigargunta‑Bisanatham as a separate high‑grade target (22.16 lakh tonnes at 5.64 g/t) and a fresh auction window open to bidders until July 9.