PANNA MINE

Panna is a city and a municipality in Panna district in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. It is famous for its diamond mines. It is the administrative center of Panna District.

A large group of diamond deposits extends North-East on a branch of the Vindhya Range for 150 miles (240 km) or so, and is known as the Panna group. They do not cover an area of more than 20 acres (81,000 m2). Great pits, 25 feet (7.6 m) in diameter and, perhaps, 30 feet (9.1 m) in depth, are dug for the sake of reaching the diamond conglomerate, which, in many cases, was only a very thin layer.According to Valentine Ball, who edited the 1676 ‘Travels in India’ of Jean-Baptiste Tavernier, Tieffenthaler was the first European to visit the mines in 1765 and claimed that the Panna diamonds could not compare in hardness and fire with other locations in India. No really large diamonds have come from this area.The most productive mines were in the 1860s and were found in Sakaria, around 20 miles (32 km) from Panna. Four classifications were given to the Panna diamonds: first, Motichul, clear and brilliant; 2nd, Manik, with a faint orange tint; 3rd, Panna, verging in tint towards green; 4th, Bunsput, sepia coloured. Mines is situated in the interior of Panna district.Diamond mines in Panna are managed under the Diamond Mining Project of National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC Ltd) of Government of India.In other mines every year the land is leased to prospective miners by the government agency. The diamonds unearthed are all collected by the district magistrate of Panna and are auctioned in the month of January. Auctions are open to the public and require a R.s 5000 deposit. Upwards of 100 diamonds of different carat and shade are offered for auction

KOLLUR MINE

The Kollur Mine (or Gani Coulour) in the Guntur district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh was one of the most productive diamond mines in the world and the first major diamond centre. It is situated on the south bank of the River Krishna. It operated between the 16th and mid-19th centuries. In addition to the Kollur, the Paritala, Gollapally, Mallavally, Ramallakota, and Banganapally were extremely prolific mines in India during this period. At the height of production, it was recorded that around 60,000 people mined the region, including men, women, and children of all ages.

The famous diamond known as the “Tavernier Diamond” was purchased by Jean-Baptiste Tavernier from the Kollur mine in the mid-17th century.The diamond was purchased from Tavernier by King Louis XIV of France but was stolen during the French Revolution; it is believed to have reappeared as the re-cut Hope Diamond. The Indian mines were eventually depleted and the diamond centre shifted to Brazil, where a good amount of diamonds were discovered. Many of the most famous and notable diamonds were mined from these early Indian mines, including the Koh-i-Noor, the Regent Diamond, the Great Mogul (all from the Kollur); the Daria-i-Noor, the Orloff, the Dresden Green, and the Nassak Diamond.

NOTABLE DIAMONSDS