Did you know that diamond mining isn’t something new in India? Yes, it has actually been going on since the 5th Century B.C. Though, it wasn’t until the 16th to 17th century that this diamond mining scene became a super popular thing, and that was the time when a lot of famous diamonds were found in India. Remember the Koh-i-Noor? Yes, that was the result of how strong the diamond mining was going on at that time in India. Though there are just a handful of diamond mines right now, the ones that are mining diamonds are producing the best quality diamonds in the world. That’s why we decided to come up with this list of the top 5 major diamond mines in India, just to introduce you to them briefly. So, let’s get going.
1. Majhgawan Mine (Panna, Madhya Pradesh)
Have you heard of Panna Diamonds? Well, these diamonds actually come from a very specific place in India, and that place is Majhgawan Mine, Panna, Madhya Pradesh. Now get it like why are they called Panna Diamonds? Talking about this diamond mine specifically though, well, this one was established way back in 1967 and now is managed by the National Mineral Development Corporation. Though in the recent few years or so, there have been a lot of challenges in keeping this mine up and running, back in 2023, this diamond mine actually produced 84,000 carats of diamonds that year alone.
2. Bunder Mine (Chhatarpur, Madhya Pradesh)
Did you know that at one point in time, it was estimated that there were around 32 million carats of diamonds buried beneath the surface of the land where now the Bunder Mine is in Chhatarpur, Madhya Pradesh? That was somewhat true, but due to some environmental challenges, the mining work wasn’t at its fullest, and that’s why Rio Tinto stepped away from it back in 2017. Just so you know, Rio Tinto is actually a mining company, and they were the ones to start working on Bunder Mine back in 2004.
3. Kollur Mine (Andhra Pradesh)
If you have done any research about the famous Koh-i-Noor diamond, then you very well know that it actually came from the Kollur Mine of Andhra Pradesh, right? And to be honest, that one super valuable and super famous diamond was the reason why everybody knows about this mine. But if you don’t know, mining was stopped in Kollur Mine way back in the 19th century. Though, as an interesting fact, we’d like to tell you that when it was in the prime of its mining operations, Kollur Mine actually employed nearly 60 thousand people. That’s just insane!
4. Golconda Mines (Telangana)
Whenever there is a discussion about diamonds in India, there has to be some sort of mention of the Golconda Mines from Telangana. Remember the Hope Diamond and the Regent Diamond? Yes, those are from Golconda, and both of them are believed to have been found or mined anywhere between the 1600s to the 1700s. That’s because back in those days, this part of Telangana was a huge diamond trade hot center, and a lot of diamonds were traded at that time in history. So, no wonder why we had to include this mine to this list or else it would not have been a complete list.
5. Krishna River Placer Diamonds (Andhra Pradesh)
When it comes to diamond mines, people in India actually know about just 4 famous mines, but there is a 5th one that not a lot of people know about, even in 2024. Yes, we are talking about the Krishna River Placer Diamonds all the way from Andhra Pradesh. This was actually an ancient diamond mine, or the place where a lot of diamonds were found in just the gravel parts near the Krishna River. Can you even imagine how great would that have been, like walking down the edge of the river and then finding a valuable diamond, just like that? Sounds like a story, but this was the case a long time ago, and now this diamond mining site is just in the talks.
Conclusion
There you have it. If you hear anything about diamond mining in the headlines or anything like that, remember, it is because of how these diamond mines are handling the task. Anyway, we’ll see you in the next one.
