The Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, Shivraj Singh Chauhan, today inaugurated the sample processing plant at the site of Rio Tinto’s Bunder Project, near Bakswaha in the Chhatarpur district. The Bunder Project, in the Bundelkhand region of Madhya Pradesh, comprises a cluster of eight lamproites and is Rio Tinto’s most advanced diamond project. The inauguration of the sample processing plant will help further assess the value and grade of the Bunder diamond deposit.
The Managing Director of Rio Tinto Diamonds, Bruce Cox, who was present at the ceremony, thanked the government of Madhya Pradesh for their continuing support of the Bunder Project and said, “The Bunder Project is an exciting development for the global diamond industry and is the next step in the development of a world class diamond mine in India.”
Stefanie Loader, Project Director of the Bunder Project explained that the sample processing plant at Bunder is a unique and state-of-the-art installation, costing some Rs 33 crores and capable of processing at 10 tonnes per hour.
The plant is entirely modular and does not require any permanent structure. It is also highly automated and designed to minimize the impact on the environment. In addition to noise and dust controls, the plant does not use any chemicals and reduces water consumption through recycling and water harvesting.
Loader went on to say that Rio Tinto was looking forward to working with the Madhya Pradesh community and anticipates bringing significant benefits to the region.
The Bunder Project currently employs approximately 220 people, of which 93% are from Madhya Pradesh and over 75% from our neighboring communities. Local community employment is organized on a rotational basis and around 170 families currently benefit from employment opportunities at the project.
Over time, direct employment from a fully operational mine is anticipated to be some 400 employees, with hundreds of other local jobs to provide the necessary goods and services to support a mine.
Rio Tinto’s original discovery of diamonds in Madhya Pradesh was made as part of a regional exploration reconnaissance in 2004. Located 500 km south east of Delhi, the Bunder Project’s order of magnitude study identified an inferred resource of 37 million tons at a grade of 0.7 carats per ton, as announced in March 2009 1.
As a result, Rio Tinto has identified a diamond resource seven times richer than the Panna diamond mine, with a likely production rate at least 20 times greater than Panna. Madhya Pradesh would therefore rank, in terms of volume and value, in the top 10 diamond producing regions in the world.
The initial results from the new sample processing plant are expected by the end of 2009. The next phase of evaluation of the Bunder Project will involve engineering studies and the social and environmental impacts of a diamond mine.
These studies will take two to three years to complete. Rio Tinto estimates the total investment to develop a mine at Bunder Project to be at least Rs 2200 crores.