Panna, Sep 14: After a wait of 15 years, a labourer and his three partners had a shower of good luck when they found an 8.22 carat diamond in a mine in Madhya Pradesh's Panna district, an official said.

Local experts say the diamond may fetch up to Rs 40 lakh and as per officials, the proceeds from the auction of such raw diamonds would be given to the respective miners after the deduction of government royalty and taxes.

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Ratanlal Prajapati and his partners unearthed the 8.22 carat diamond from a leased land in Hirapur Tapariyan area of the district and deposited it at the diamond office on Monday, Panna Collector Sanjay Kumar Mishra told reporters.

The diamond will be put up for auction on September 21 along with other gems, he said.

After depositing the precious stone at the government office, Raghuvir Prajapati, one of the partners of Ratanlal Prajapati, told reporters that they had spent the last 15 years quarrying in various mines in their quest to find diamonds, but fortune smiled on them for the first time on Monday.

“We leased small mines in different areas for the past 15 years, but did not find any diamond. This year, we have been mining on a leased land at Hirapur Tapariyan for the past six months and were pleasantly surprised to find a diamond weighing 8.22 carat,” he said.

The miner said he and his partners will use the money received from the auction of the diamond for providing a better life and education to their children.

According to officials, the proceeds from the auction of the raw diamonds would be given to the respective miners after deduction of government royalty and taxes.

Panna district, located over 380 km from the state capital Bhopal, has reserves estimated to be containing diamonds totalling 12 lakh carats, officials said.

The auction of the latest precious stone found by the labourers and 139 other diamonds will start from September 21, they added.

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