India's state-owned mining company NMDC has announced plans to mine 6,500 carats of diamonds worth $3.4 million this financial year from its Panna mine in the central state of Madhya Pradesh. The mining is expected to begin after receiving all the necessary clearances at a project located in close proximity to a tiger reserve, The Hindu reported.
The mining company faced delays in obtaining environmental clearances and was forced to halt mining for over three years. The Supreme Court later allowed NMDC to continue mining, subject to certain guidelines and environmental standards.
"We will start ore mining from the mines in two-three months, and in the meanwhile, diamonds are processed through feeding of old stockpiles," the company said.
Since resuming operations at the mine last spring, the company has extracted 3,700 carats, or $1.93 million, of diamonds from the ore.
The 276-hectare mine was launched in the early 1970s and is the only mechanized diamond mine in the country. Madhya Pradesh is considered one of the largest diamond-producing regions in Asia.
Global and domestic mining companies have also tried to mine diamonds at the Bunder project, near the Panna Wildlife Sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh, but with little success.
Anglo-Australian mining giant Rio Tinto spent about $90 million on the mine over 14 years before pulling out of the project in 2016-17. Mining at the Bunder project has not resumed since Rio Tinto's exit, largely due to concerns about its location in a forested area home to tigers and other wildlife.
Hélène Tarin, Editor-in-Chief of the Asian Bureau, Rough&Polished
