Indian Jewelry » Gems Mining India

The Orissa Mining Corporation has opened up the deposits in the State to be mined by a joint venture with a private company.

The Jhillingdhar ruby mine, near Bhawanipatna in Kalahandi district, officially became the first legal gemstone mine in Orissa in 1992 when it was formally transferred from Orissa Mining Corporation to a joint sector company.

The Jhillingdhar mine area consists of a belt which extends down the mountain to the Hinjhribahal mine, a mine that produces only translucent to opaque ruby, which is still under OMC control. The main Jhillingdhar mining pit has produced transparent rubies but it has been heavily mined in the past. However, no extraction machinery has been used in the area. The private company plans to install an automatic concentrator and separator plant. The company received assistance from the United Nations Development Program and has two experts from Idar-Oberstein and Australia. The mining equipment was imported by the United Nations and leased to the joint sector company.