15-year wait ends as laborers find 8.22-carat diamond in Panna
After a wait of 15 years, a laborer and his three partners had a shower of good luck when they found an 8.22 carat diamond in a mine in Madhya Pradesh's Panna district, an official said. Ratanlal Prajapati and his partners unearthed the 8.22 carat diamond from leased land in the Hirapur Tapariyan area of the district, Panna Collector Sanjay Kumar Mishra told reporters.
Diamond would be put up for auction on September 21
"They have deposited the diamond at the diamond office on Monday. The diamond would be put up for auction on September 21 along with other gems," Mishra said. Notably, local experts say that the diamond may fetch up to Rs. 40 lakh.
We were pleasantly surprised to find the diamond: Miner
Meanwhile, Raghuvir Prajapati, one of the partners of Ratanlal Prajapati, told reporters, "We leased small mines in different areas for the past 15 years, but did not find any diamond." "This year, we have been mining on leased land at Hirapur Tapariyan for the past six months and were pleasantly surprised to find a diamond weighing 8.22 carat," he added.
Proceeds would be given to miners after deduction of taxes
The miner said he and his partners will use the money received from the auction of the diamond for providing a better life and education to their children. According to officials, the proceeds from the auction of the raw diamonds would be given to the respective miners after deduction of government royalty and taxes.
Panna is estimated to contain diamonds totaling 12 lakh carats
Panna district, located over 380km from the state capital Bhopal, has reserves estimated to be containing diamonds totaling 12 lakh carats. The state government gives small patches of land on lease in the Panna diamond reserve area to local farmers and laborers to mine diamonds and deposit them with the district mining officer.
Farmer had mined 6.47-carat diamond worth Rs. 30L last month
"The auction of the latest precious stone found by the laborers and 139 other diamonds will start from September 21," officials said. Notably, last month another farmer had mined a 6.47-carat diamond worth Rs. 30 lakh, his sixth success in two years.
