Gold dust hunters have been sweeping KT Street, also called goldsmith's street, for generations. When goldsmiths file gold for making ornaments, tiny particles of the precious metal fly and settle on their clothes. Before getting out of the shop, the goldsmiths carefully dust off the clothes so as to collect the particles later. Even then, there is a good chance of gold particles falling outside their shops.
Gold dust hunters capitalise on this chance. Every evening, they wait for the shops to close. Once the goldsmith walks out, they start 'mining'. They sweep the facade using large brushes and collect the dust in gunny bags. And then they head for the sewage canals to filter the gold out of the dust.
The filtering process needs patience, skill and running water. First, the dust is transferred to metal basins. The basins are then carefully immersed in the canal to sift out the lighter soil particles. Hours pass before the heavier metal dust is transferred to stainless steel bowls and heated to liquefy the impurities. Later, mercury is used to separate the gold particles. After all the tedious work, a gold dust hunter earns around 200mg of gold a day, equivalent to Rs.200 in today's prices.
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