India’s NMDC is set to extract $3.4m worth of diamonds from a mine near a tiger reserve.

India’s government-run NMDC is set to extract 6,500 carats of diamonds worth Rs 3.4m (Rs294.13m) from the Panna mine in India’s Madhya Pradesh state this fiscal year.

This follows the receipt of mining clearance last year, the report said. ReutersCiting sources.

The company faced delays in obtaining environmental clearances, which halted mining operations for more than three years due to the mine’s close proximity to tiger reserves.

The Supreme Court then gave permission to NMDC to resume mining, subject to compliance with certain guidelines, thereby allowing the company to resume operations, according to the report.

While NMDC has yet to start any new mining operations, it is currently focused on extracting and processing diamonds from the ore deposits in the Panna mine.

“In two-three months, we will start mining from the mine and in the meantime, diamonds will be produced by feeding old deposits,” the company said in an emailed response. Reuters.

Since the start of operations, NMDC has extracted 3,700 carats of diamonds worth an estimated $1.93 million from the mine, the report said.

The Panna mine has an area of ​​275.96 hectares and has been in operation since the early 1970s, making it the “only mechanized diamond mine in India”.

Other international and local mining companies have tried to extract diamonds at the Bunder project near the Panna Reserve, but with limited success.

Before pulling out of the Bunder project in 2016–17, Rio Tinto had invested about $90m over 14 years.

After Rio Tinto pulled out, mining at the Bunder project did not begin, mainly due to concerns about its location in the forest, which is home to tigers and other wildlife.

“India’s NMDC to mine $3.4m worth of diamonds near Tiger Reserve” originally created and published by Mining technologyA trademark owned by GlobalData.

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