13 lakh carat diamond reserves in Chhattisgarh

More than one-forth of the total diamond reserves of the country are in Chhattisgarh, the annual report of mining department of Chhattisgarh government said.

An estimated 13 lakh carat diamonds are reserved in Chhattisgarh, which is 28.26 per cent of the total 46 lakh carat diamond reserves in India, the annual report for year 2008-09 maintained.

Besides, Chhattisgarh has also about 38 per cent of the total tin reserves in the country. As per the annual report, the state has about an estimated 32.62 million tonnes of tin ore reserves as against the total estimation of 86.55 million tonnes of tin ore in the country. All these figures are as per the findings till April 01, 2005.

It is to be noted here that government has given reconnaissance permission (RP) to several leading companies to identify places where diamond can be mined. Leading companies who have given RP includes namely De Beers India Limited, ACC RioTinto private limited, BHP Billiton Limited, Jindal Steel and Power Limited, etc.

As of now, several companies have already completed reconnaissance in their respective areas and have applied for prospecting licences (PL).