NMDC to auction 9,700 carats of rough diamonds this month

Mineral giant NMDC expects to raise about Rs 5 crore this month from the auction of 9,700 carats of rough diamonds produced from its Panna mines in Madhya Pradesh.

"The company eyes at raising Rs 4-5 crore from the auction of 9,700 crore rough diamonds, produced from its Panna mines," said a source.

The auction will take place in Mumbai on September 16 and 17 while the diamonds will be displayed for inspection from September 13 to 15.

"The diamonds that will be auctioned will be less than 5 carats each," the source said.

The Panna mines at Majhgaon are the Asia's biggest mechanised diamond mine and its diamonds are rated next to those produced from South African mines.

The mining operations, which closed here in 2005 in want of forest clearance and approvals from the adjoining wildlife sanctuary, resumed in August last year after getting a conditional nod from the Supreme Court.

The court asked the miner to pay Rs 10.69 crore as net present value (NPV) to the state government, which in June, 2009, gave the green signal to resume mining activities at the site.

The company produced about 17,000 carats last fiscal against a target of 35,000 carats.

The Panna mines have an estimated reserves of 12 lakh carats of diamond.