In a first, a diamond mineral block in Madhya Pradesh's Panna district having precious stone deposit worth nearly Rs 106 crore has gone under the hammer.

"Hatupur Diamond mineral block was successfully auctioned on October 5, in Panna district. This is the first diamond mineral block of the country which went under the hammer," a state official said.

According to Secretary, Mineral Resources, Manohar Dube, "Diamond mineral worth Rs 106 crore is available in the Hatupur block." Bansal Construction Works emerged as the preferred bidder by submitting the highest final price offer after two rounds of competitive bidding.

Three other companies - Rungta Mines Ltd, Thriveni Earthmovers Ltd and Pushpanjali Tradevin Pvt Ltd - were also in contention for the block.

The block witnessed aggressive bidding from the companies which lasted approximately eight hours and a final bid at 22.31% was received.

The block was carefully chosen based on industry requirements and its attractiveness in terms of size, land ownership pattern and economics.

The block located is presently under G3 category and is spread over an area of 133.50 Ha. It has 0.604 MT of inferred resources with diamond incidence of 10.20 carat/100 tonnes.

Prospecting operations would be carried out first after which the mining lease would be executed thereupon subject to compliance with conditions stipulated in the Act and rules, the official said.

An additional revenue of Rs 25 crore is estimated from the block to the state government over the mining lease period. The royalty and other statutory payments over the lease period are estimated to be about Rs 11 crore, he said.

SBI Capital Markets was the transaction adviser for the auction process and MSTC Limited was auction platform provider.

The government is committed to making Madhya Pradesh a top mining destination in the country and is taking several steps to boost it (mining) in the state.