Four diamond miners in India's Madhya Pradesh state were left delighted and amazed recently as they dug out an 8.22 carat diamond from a mine which is now expected to fetch more than $50,000 at an auction due to be organised soon.
Sanjay Kumar Mishra, the District Collector of Panna, where the diamond mine is, told reporters that a labourer, Ratanlal Prajapati, and his three co-workers unearthed the diamond from a leased land. They deposited the precious stone at the diamond office on Monday.
Prajapati, who found the diamond, told reporters that he and his associates had spent the past 15 years quarrying in various mines in an attempt to find diamonds. And the luck has finally smiled upon them.
The auction, scheduled for 21 September by the government, will also have on display a 14-carat diamond that was found by another labourer in February this year and remained unsold in the previous auction. The stone is expected to be the main attraction of the auction and may fetch about $95,000.
Diamantaires from the state of Gujarat, the biggest diamond hub in the country, and from Delhi, Mumbai, and Hyderabad cities are expected to participate in the gems' auction.
The proceeds from the auction of the raw diamonds would go to the miners after deduction of a government royalty and taxes, the officials told reporters.
Last week, a farmer in Panna district mined a high-quality 6.4-carat diamond for the sixth time in two years, on land leased from the government.