Panjsher emeralds fetch $200,250 at 14th auction

PARAKH (Pajhwok): The Department of Mines and Petroleum in central Panjsher province has sold 6,887 carats of emeralds for $200,250 at 14^th auction, an official said on Tuesday.

Mohammad Qasim Amir, director of mines and petroleum, said about 130 traders from Panjsher, Kabul, Parwan, Uruzgan, Logar, Kandahar, Helmand, Balkh and Baghlan provinces took part in the auction.

He said the emeralds sold had been extracted from 17 sites in Hisa-i-Awal district of Panjsher. Emerald mining in the province resumed in August after two years of suspension.

At the previous 13th auction, the high-valued gemstone fetched more than $3.96 million, he recalled.

sa/ma