PARAKH (Pajhwok): The Department of Mines and Petroleum in central Panjsher province has sold 7,430.3 carats of emerald for $142,000, an official said on Tuesday.
Mohammad Qasim Amir, director of mines and petroleum, said more than 80 traders from Panjsher, Kapisa, Parwan, Logar, Balkh, Baghlan, Kandahar and Kabul provinces took part in the 11th auction.
He said the emeralds sold had been extracted from six sites in Hisa-i-Awal district. Emerald mining in the province resumed in August after two years of suspension.
At the previous 10 auctions, emeralds were sold for more than $2.300 million, he recalled.
The number of emeralds mines in Panjsher is 1,250, out of which extraction work is underway at 350 deposits.
hz/ma
Views: 57