De Beers to invest Rs35 cr in 2005

De Beers India, a subsidiary of the De Beers Group, the world's leading diamond company, is keen to scale up its presence in the diamond exploration and mining business in India.

De Beers intends to pump in Rs 35 crore into its operations in 2005.

Its investment in India to date has been around Rs 45 crore.

De Beers operates in India under a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Hindustan Diamond Company (HDC)

"De Beers is committed to the discovery of new world class diamond mines in India and the MoU with HDC cements De Beers' commitment to the Indian diamond industry", Rajiv Bhandari, chairman and managing director of De Beers India, told Business Standard.

"Presently exploration and mining activities are concentrated in four of the Indian states and it may take as long as five years to strike out new diamond mines," Bhandari said in Surat on the sidelines of a seminar on eradication of child labour from the diamond industry.

De Beers has been working in India for two decades with the aim of taking up diamond mining in India.

De Beers India received a reconnaissance permit in end-2000 and started exploration in early 2001.

So far, the exploration work has led to the discovery of more than 20 kimberlite deposits in four states, all of which are being appraised for diamond content.

Last year, De Beers exploration also signed joint venture exploration agreements and strategic alliances in Canada, Botswana, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Central African Republic, Russia, Australia, Brazil and Madagascar.

Its geologists discovered 39 new kimberlite deposits in seven countries on four continents, with.

De Beers geologists have to date discovered over 1600 kimberlite in the world.

HDC is an equal joint venture between the government of India and De Beers.

HDC is involved in the buying and selling of rough diamonds to small and medium sized firms in the Indian diamond market.

The HDC head office and main sales office are in Mumbai, with a branch office at Surat to service local diamond manufacturers and exporters.