Gold was first mined in the area prior to the 2nd and 3rd century AD (golden objects found in Harappa and Mohenjo-daro have been traced to KGF through impurities-analyis--the impurities include 11% silver concentration, found only in KGF ore) by the digging of small pits. During the Chola period in the 9th and 10th century AD the scale of the operation grew, but large-scale mining only came in the 1850s under the British with more manpower and sophisticated machinery. In 1873, M.F. Lavelle, a resident in Bangalore, applied to the Mysore Government for the exclusive privilege of mining in the Kolar district. His request was granted and he commenced operations by sinking a shaft near Urigam (Oorgaum) in 1875, but, finding that large capital would be required he, in the following year and with the approval of the government, transferred all his rights and concessions to the late Major General G. de la Poer Beresford. Major General Beresford formed a syndicate known as the Kolar Concessionaries (now merged into the Gold Fields of Mysore Co.) which took up the matter in earnest, and gradually acquired the area known as the Kolar Gold Fields.The following were the principal Mines in the Gold Fields in 1905:- These are a few minings in this city The Mysore Gold Mine, Champion Reef Mine, Oorgaum Mine, Nundydroog Mine, Tank Block Mine, Balaghat Mine, Gold Fields of Mysore, Coromandel Mine, Oriental Mine, Nine Reefs Mine, Road Block Mine, Mysore Reefs Gold Mines Coy.