Commissioning of independent India’s first integrated Greenfield gold mining project, located in Andhra Pradesh, is expected to begin in the next two months, reports Deccan Chronicle.

An Indo-Australian company, Australian Indian Resources (AIR) Limited, is the proponent of the project. The company is in the process of finishing the land acquisition in Jonnagiri of Kurnool district in Andhra Pradesh. It has also completed exploration and feasibility studies, in line with global standards and is satisfied with the viability of the project.

According to the report, the commercial production is expected to begin in third quarter of 2020. The initial production output of the Jonnagiri facility is 750 kg of gold per annum with plans to increase it to one tonne annually in the future.

The only gold mines in India are in Karnataka at Kolar Gold Fields and Hutti, which were opened in the British era. No gold mining happened in the country after Independence.

The process of initial site exploration and applying for the statutory clearances for the project began in 2005, with a long process since then to obtain mining leases and complete environmental permissions.

“The facility will be ready within 15 months. We plan to begin production by the third quarter of 2020. Simultaneously exploration will take place in the remaining 1,150 acre. The project cost is pegged at Rs 300 crores,” managing director and chief executive officer of AIR, M. Hanuma Prasad was quoted in the report as saying.