You could mistake the porous piece of rock jutting out from a rivulet in the teak forests of Chhatarpur, Madhya Pradesh, for just that - a piece of rock. But that could be a million-dollar omission. Last month, 35 top geologists from across the world were queuing up to be snapped against it.
The outcrop, as they call it in geological terminology, could potentially mean the Next Big Thing in diamond mining. Moneybags from Australian mining behemothRio Tinto are rolling up their sleeves, praying that somewhere scattered among the dirt and rock in the 954-sq km area could be the next Koh-i-Noor. All this in the heart of Bundelkhand, where banditry is considered an acceptable option for survival.
Well, Diamonds are Forever...
...Maybe, but the diamond mines are not. What Rio Tinto hopes to develop will only be India's seconddiamond mine, and the first ever by a private company. The outcrop was spotted by company geologists in 2004, and is considered the most significant diamond discovery globally in over a decade.
The Anglo-Australian miner has finally received a Letter of Intent - a commitment from the state government that once clearances come through from the ministry of environment and forest (MoEF), the diamonds are its to mine. On an average its takes 8-10 years to develop the deposit into an operational mine; at pre-feasibility stage now, the actual mine is a few years away.
The Bunder Project, a codename inspired by the monkeys of the area, will be among the four new diamond mines likely to become functional globally in the next 10 years.
Rio Tinto has been prospecting the area for over two decades now. Data indicates a field of eight kimberlitic (read, often diamond-bearing) rock pipes named Saptarishi with a promise of 27.4 million carats of diamonds.
The path the Earth's magma takes when it gushes out through cracks in continental shelves over millions of years forms these pipes. When they disintegrate, diamonds often wash down into the land around, and down into riverbeds. One of the world's greatest, the Koh-i-noor, now adorning the British crown, is thought to have been washed down thus into the Krishna river in Andhra Pradesh several centuries ago.
As a primary source of the precious gems, the discovery of a diamondiferous kimberlitic deposit generates much excitement in the industry. One in 100 kimberlites is diamondiferous, and one in 10 among these would be economically viable.
The Living Daylights
The campsite is abuzz. Geological experts from Rio's Salt Lake City and London offices work alongside its Indian team scanning through endless rows of trays of drilled cores, poring over data.
Yet, everything depends on a feasibility study currently underway which requires analysis across technical, economic, social and environmental issues associated with the potential mine. A pre-feasibility study of the Bunder Project is expected to be over by December this year.
The outcrop, as they call it in geological terminology, could potentially mean the Next Big Thing in diamond mining. Moneybags from Australian mining behemothRio Tinto are rolling up their sleeves, praying that somewhere scattered among the dirt and rock in the 954-sq km area could be the next Koh-i-Noor. All this in the heart of Bundelkhand, where banditry is considered an acceptable option for survival.
Well, Diamonds are Forever...
...Maybe, but the diamond mines are not. What Rio Tinto hopes to develop will only be India's seconddiamond mine, and the first ever by a private company. The outcrop was spotted by company geologists in 2004, and is considered the most significant diamond discovery globally in over a decade.
The Anglo-Australian miner has finally received a Letter of Intent - a commitment from the state government that once clearances come through from the ministry of environment and forest (MoEF), the diamonds are its to mine. On an average its takes 8-10 years to develop the deposit into an operational mine; at pre-feasibility stage now, the actual mine is a few years away.
The Bunder Project, a codename inspired by the monkeys of the area, will be among the four new diamond mines likely to become functional globally in the next 10 years.
Rio Tinto has been prospecting the area for over two decades now. Data indicates a field of eight kimberlitic (read, often diamond-bearing) rock pipes named Saptarishi with a promise of 27.4 million carats of diamonds.
The path the Earth's magma takes when it gushes out through cracks in continental shelves over millions of years forms these pipes. When they disintegrate, diamonds often wash down into the land around, and down into riverbeds. One of the world's greatest, the Koh-i-noor, now adorning the British crown, is thought to have been washed down thus into the Krishna river in Andhra Pradesh several centuries ago.
As a primary source of the precious gems, the discovery of a diamondiferous kimberlitic deposit generates much excitement in the industry. One in 100 kimberlites is diamondiferous, and one in 10 among these would be economically viable.
The Living Daylights
The campsite is abuzz. Geological experts from Rio's Salt Lake City and London offices work alongside its Indian team scanning through endless rows of trays of drilled cores, poring over data.
Yet, everything depends on a feasibility study currently underway which requires analysis across technical, economic, social and environmental issues associated with the potential mine. A pre-feasibility study of the Bunder Project is expected to be over by December this year.
However, the firm's prospecting licence (PL) for an area of 25 sq km expired last September. And for nearly a year of the three years it was valid, the company didn't have forest clearance. "The futility of holding a PL without forest clearance has somewhat compromised how Rio goes about studying its deposits," says Nik Senapati, Rio Tinto, India managing director.
But with its mining lease (applied in June 2008) nearly in hand, Rio has zeroed in on Atri, the largest of the eight kimberlitic pipes, with a potential second pipe on its 954 hectare lease area. Of the three diamond mines that Rio has stake in, Bunder, if developed, will be closest to its flagship Canadian diamond project. Rio claims that the deposit is seven times richer than India's only operating mine about 140 km away at Majhgawan, Panna district. "A new mine is what the country needs. India could become a major producer if currently known deposits are evaluated," says Roger H Mitchell, a geologist and an authority on diamond-bearing rocks. Licence to Mine Legend has it that the 18th century saint Prannath asked King Chhatrasal to ride out one morning and told him wherever his horse trod there would be diamonds. The distribution of diamonds around Panna - in Ramkheria, in the gravel land at Hatupur, Bargadi, Kalan and Kitha, and further down along the banks of the Baghin river in Satna district, and now in Bundar - lends itself perfectly to the story of the king.
"The romance of diamonds is such that empires can be built and destroyed around them," says C Krishna, a geologist at the Bunder project. It was Krishna's wife Leena, who first spotted the outcrop in 2004. Rio is building up such a dream for the Buxwaha region of Bundelkhand. But in 21st century India, dreams have a history of getting mired in red tape. India's other diamond mine, the NMDC-run Majhgawan in Panna, would testify for that. In 2006, the Supreme Court ruled that the mine, falling within the limits of Gangau sanctuary, could be allowed to operate - closely monitored - only up to 2010. Falling in line, the mine implemented 21 terms and conditions for a five-year renewal of permission to continue using one-time forest land on which sits its processing plant, offices and residential colony. The mine area is patta land; the to-do list included completing settlement right on land occupied almost 50 years ago. Majhgawan, which will clock a net loss of Rs 28 crore in 2011-12, is currently operating at a fourth of its capacity. General manager CE Kindo is busy recruiting staff to replace retirees but the appointments would have to wait till MoEF gives the green signal. In its 56 years of existence, the mine has produced one million carats. In 30 years Rio' Argyle mine in Australia has produced over 670 million carats of rough diamonds. Quantum of Solace And then there are the day-trippers. Khanak Singh, 56, rushes to the Bhagini river bed when he is not tending to his crops.
Everyday, for at least three hours, he washes the gravel in a basket, dries it out on a patch of cleared land, and then sifts through for a glint that could mean a gem. "It's particularly tedious if you have started a day with hope in your heart. At the end of the day my body feels like it has taken a thousand chappal beatings," he says
And he would rather take those beatings on than miss out on a shining lump. The government continues to lease out patches of 25x25-foot plots where the entrepreneurial among the villagers try their luck. Ram Gopal, with his three partners, does it on an organised scale. Hidden from plain view and groaning away in a 10-meter pit is a mechanised digger, hired at a daily rental of Rs 1, 400, while 30 hands basically do what Khanak Singh does by himself: dig, wash, sort, pray and find. Finds are to be turned in to the government. But rather than wait for the half yearly (now quarterly) auctions, villagers are happier exchanging them for immediate cash with merchants from Surat. The World is Not Enough For a globe-trotting geologist - and Team Rio is studded with them - the journey to Bunder is strewn with exotic cliches. The nearest airport is in the temple town of Khajuraho, a Unesco heritage site known for its 15th century erotic sculptures. The road cuts through teak forests infested with dacoits and rhesus macaque monkeys. And leaving behind the Panna Tiger reserve, the road turns towards the mine beyond Chhatarpur. Once it gets cranking, the mine will employ around 400 people and will have a life of 20 years. The company says it has initiated a slew of corporate social responsibility measures to endear the locals and help the community spread over 15 villages. And for good reasons - ranging from the mundane to the sacred. When the first of the Rio SUVs rolled into Bundelkhand, locals mistook the black seat-belts to be gun holsters - seat belts are all grey now. Rio will also have to address concerns of water wastage in this parched land infamous for recurring droughts. It is already helping set up solar-based pumps to get water to villages For the time being, there are only happy faces to be seen - in sharp contrast to other pits where mining and private sector come hyphenated.
Thirty-five-year-old Soniabai tells ET on Sunday that thanks to her job at the Rio kitchen, she managed to get her children married. With an assured monthly take home of Rs 4,000, she now plans to fund her nephew's marriage and pay off her Rs 50,000 debt. Snug in her big black boots - a must for all the staff - Soniabai , Rio's first woman employee, walks back home at the end of the day, safe in the company assurance that her Bundelkhand will soon find itself on the world map. Up until now, the only well-dressed folks who cared for this arid area were ambitious politicians looking for that perfect photo-op with the evidently a-lot-less-privileged. But if Rio has its way, and find, all that could change. In 10 years, Bundelkhand could be among the top ten diamond destinations of the world. |
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