The NMDC-CMDC board approved large-diameter drilling at the Baloda-Belmundi Diamond Block. The data will support a feasibility study for a potential new mine in Chhattisgarh.
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The board of NMDC-CMDC Limited, the joint venture between NMDC and the Chhattisgarh government, approved the next exploration phase for the Baloda-Belmundi Diamond Block. The decision covers large-diameter drilling aimed at assessing the grade and continuity of diamond-bearing kimberlite pipes identified during earlier surveys.
The data will feed a feasibility study. If the numbers support a mine, the venture would move toward commercial production – a first for central India's diamond belt. The block sits in the Bastar craton, a geological region where state-run exploration has flagged kimberlite clusters before but never developed into a working diamond mine.
Chhattisgarh holds an estimated 80% of India's known diamond resources, according to Geological Survey of India data. Most of that sits in the Raipur and Durg districts. The Baloda-Belmundi block is among the better-surveyed targets, with earlier sampling showing micro-diamonds in multiple pipes.
Large-diameter drilling is the step that usually separates a prospect from a project. Smaller reconnaissance holes confirm kimberlite exists. The big holes test whether there is enough diamond-grade material to justify the capital cost of a mine, which runs into hundreds of crores even at modest scale. NMDC-CMDC's feasibility report will need to show a grade and tonnage that beats the logistics cost of operating in a remote district with limited power and road infrastructure.
The venture has two partners with different incentives. NMDC, India's largest iron ore miner by volume, brings mining expertise and balance-sheet depth. CMDC, the state mineral development corporation, holds the licence and a stake that gives the state government a direct interest in getting a mine into production. The joint venture structure mirrors the model used for other critical-mineral blocks the centre has auctioned under the Mines and Minerals Act.
The timeline is still loose. Drilling programmes in this terrain typically run 12 to 18 months, followed by 6 to 9 months of assay analysis before the feasibility study is ready. If the study supports a mine, the next step would be environmental clearance and a mining lease application. The nearest precedent is NMDC's own diamond operations in Panna, Madhya Pradesh, where the company runs an open-pit mine and a beneficiation plant that processes about 85,000 tonnes of ore a year.
Panna produces mostly industrial-grade diamonds. Baloda-Belmundi's geology, sourced from Geological Survey of India field reports, suggests the potential for better-quality stones – though the drill core will be the first real test of that hypothesis.
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