Indian Farmer Recovers 8.30-ct Diamond
January 01, 25
(IDEX Online) - An Indian farmer has recovered two diamonds - weighing 8.30 carats and 0.94 carats - from his field in the Panna district of Madhya Pradesh state.
The two stones (pictured) are described as off-color, but are still expected to sell for $35,000, a life-changing sum for Ramnaresh Dubey.
He'd spent six months digging farmland in the village of Ramkhiriya after buying a $3 license from Panna Diamond office, which will now auction his finds.
Farmers and laborers in diamond-rich Panna routinely rent small patches of land from the government.
In December 2024 a 19.22 carat diamond, recovered from a shallow mine by a part-time digger, sold at auction for $111,000.
In May 2022 farmer Pratap Singh Yadav recovered an 11.88-carat diamond and said he'd use proceeds from the sale of the stone to set up a business and pay for his children's education.
And in February of that year another part-time prospector dug up a 26.11-carat diamond which later sold for $193,000.
And in February 2021 laborer Rampyare Vishwakarma unearthed a 14.09-ct diamond.