Rio Tinto's India diamond mine hangs in the balance as protests escalate

NEW DELHI (Scrap Monster): Global mining major Rio Tinto’s ‘Bunder diamond mine’ in India received a major setback today with two prominent environmental groups raising red flags. The groups claimed that the construction of the mine would lead to ‘large scale destruction’ of forest areas. They also alleged that the mine would destroy the livelihood of local tribal people.

The local public hearing held by the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) witnessed vociferous protests from local tribal population. The tribal population continued to demonstrate against the proposed mine, saying that the mines could be able to provide jobs only on 12 days a month. The youth of the region would remain jobless on the remaining days of the month. They demanded immediate cancellation of mining lease and license issued to Rio Tinto. A series of protest marches and hunger strikes are also being planned.

Rio Tinto presently has a letter of intent from the State government. The Indian Bureau of Mines have approved the company’s mining plan. The company has approached the Project Monitoring Group under the Cabinet Secretary to obtain necessary clearances for the INR 2,200 crores diamond mining project. The Environment and Forest clearances are still awaited.

The Bunder Project is Rio Tinto’s most advanced diamond project worldwide and the most important diamond discovery in India for many decades. According to the company, the diamond deposits at Bunder Mines are seven times richer than India’s only operating diamond mine run by the state-controlled mineral producer National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC). The estimated diamond content of Bunder mines is approximately 34.2 million carats.