Panna Diamond Belt, Madhya Pradesh – A Critical Reveiw

The Panna Diamond Belt (PDB) occupying the northern margin of the Vindhyan Basin in Panna district, Madhya Pradesh hosts the primary, secondary and tertiary sources of diamond. It comprises the basement Bundelkhand granitoids to the north overlain by Vindhyan Supergroup of rocks (Mid to Upper Proterozoic) to the south. The diamond mining activity is confined mainly to the Baghain plateau and to a lesser extent to the Gahadra plateau. The two kimberlite pipes known in PDB are Majhgawan and Hinota pipes (~1100 Ma), emplaced in Baghain Sandstone lying to the west of PDB. The basal conglomerate interbeds of Jhiri Shale (Upper Rewa) and Itwan Sandstone (Lower Rewa) have been extensively mined for diamond in the past. The alluvial and colluvial (Quaternary and Recent) placer diamond workings, both ancient and present, spread over the Baghain plateau mainly between Panna town in the west and Paharikhera in the east. Exploration indicated significantly higher incidence (~30 cpht) of diamond with high percentage of gem quality diamonds.