About Hutti Gold Mines(Wikipedia Information)
Hutti Gold Mines also spelled as Hatti is a town in Raichur district in the Indian state of Karnataka. Hatti is situated in Raichur District, Karnataka State and is 80 km (50 miles) due west of Raichur, which is also the nearest railway station. This mine is probably one of the most ancient metal mines in the world, dating to the Pre-Ashokan period, the ancient miners having worked down to a depth of over 2300 feet. It is probable they had broken the rock by “fire-setting” i.e. heating it by means of fires and suddenly cooling it by pouring water onto the heated rock causing pieces to break off. As per carbon dating done by Dr. Rafter from Australia in the year 1955, the age of the two samples of timber found in old workings was estimated to be about 1980 years old.