Rakha Copper Mine Railway
Rakha Copper Mine Railway
In 1903 the 'Cape Cpper Company' South Africa began exploratory mining at Rakha, near Ghatshila in the southern Bihar State. A mill was in use in 1916 and smelter by 1919. By 1920 the rights to the mines had passed to 'Cordoba Copper Company', Spain. The record shows that a 2ft 6in/762mm narrow gauge(NG) locomotive, dating from 1914 was in use at this site [1].
In 1924 the company was reconstituted as the 'Indian Copper Corporation Ltd' and expanded its operations to form the Ghatsila Copper Complex as an extension to the 'Rakha Mine'. The smelting and refining facilities were expanded and now produces 15,000 tonnes of copper per annum as 'Hindustan Copper Ltd' [1].
The record shows that two miniature 1ft 6in/457mm [Rail_gauge#Narrow_Gauge|NG]] locomotives were supplied in 1929 and 1932 to the Corporation [1] but the function is not known.
The records show that the number of 2ft 6in/762mm [Rail_gauge#Narrow_Gauge|NG]] locomotives continued to increase [1] but the extent of the track is not known.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 “Industrial Railways and Locomotives of India and South Asia” compliled by Simon Darvill. Published by ‘The Industrial Railway Society’ 2013. ISBN 978 1 901556 82-7. Available at http://irsshop.co.uk/India. Reference: Entry JH23 and JH24 pages 168-169