India’s National Mineral Development Corporation has petitioned the country’s Supreme Court to allow it to reopen its Panna Diamond Mine in Madhya Pradesh.
Chairman and Managing Director B. Ramesh Kumar told a press conference on April 10 that the mine had been shuttered at the order of the State Pollution Control Board and the Ministry of Environment. As a result, production plummeted from 78,209 carats in 2004-05 to 48,874 carats in 2005-06. He said the company has cleared all the regulatory hurdles and a committee was scheduled to visit the mine to confirm compliance, after which the mine should reopen within two months.

Kumar said the company has also received diamond “reconnaissance permits,” a preliminary to obtaining prospecting licenses, for a 2,300 square km site at Kalyandurg in Anantapur District and a 2,010 square km site in the Panna/Satna area of Madhya Pradesh.
The mining company’s revenues increased from 22.3 billion rupees in the 2004-05 fiscal year to 35.33 billion rupees in 2005-06—or from $494 million to $783 million at current exchange rates.