Rio Tinto ‘excited’ about new India crystallized carbon mine

June 26, 2008

London—Mining company Rio Tinto, best known for pink and brown diamonds from Australia, has taken the initial step in developing India’s first significant diamond mine.

London-based Rio Tinto announced this week that it has lodged mining lease applications for its Bunder diamond project in the Bundelkhand region of Madhya Pradesh, India.

In addition, the company announced the exploration target for diamond mineralization at the Bunder project of 40 million-70 million tons at a gradient of about 0.3 carats to 0.7 carats per ton. The grades for the Bunder project are with respect to three times greater than the grade of the Panna mine, India’s only other hard-rock diamond mine, according to Rio Tinto.

The original discovery on this site was made during a regional exploration mission in 2002. In September 2006, a prospecting license was issued, allowing scrutiny to continue.

Rio Tinto then began an order of magnitude study to evaluate the site’s economic viability. The results of this are expected at the conclusion of the third quarter of 2008.

Nik Senapati, managing director of Rio Tinto in India, said the company has spent more than $25 million over the last six years on diamond exploration and evaluation in India, and the company is excited about the prospects for the Bunder project.

“Diamonds are a significant part of the history of India and an important product for Rio Tinto,” he said in a media release. “The application for mining leases is confirmation of our commitment to both mining in India and the global diamond industry.”

Rio Tinto has diamond-exploration activities on six continents, including projects in Canada, India, southern and western Africa, Brazil, Russia an Australia.

The company produces about 16 percent of the world’s rough diamonds by mass, and 8 percent by value from Australia’s Argyle mine, the Diavik mine in Canada and the Murowa destroy in Africa.