Over 3,215 carats of Panjsher emeralds fetch $176,860

PARAKH (Pajhwok): The Department of Mines and Petroleum in central Panjsher province has sold 3,215.4 carats of emerald for $176,860, an official said on Tuesday.

Mohammad Qasim Amir, director of mines and petroleum, said more than 120 traders from Panjsher, Kabul, Kapisa, Uruzgan, Parwan, Logar, Helmand, Baghlan, Kandahar and Nangarhar provinces took part in the auction.

He said the emeralds sold had been extracted from 11 sites in Hisa-i-Awal district. Emerald mining in the province resumed in August after two years of suspension.

The number of emeralds mines in Panjsher is 1,700, out of which extraction work is underway at 500 deposits.

hz/sa

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