Panjsher: 2,209 carats emeralds fetch $146,300

PARAKH (Pajhwok): The Department of Mines and Petroleum in central Panjsher province has sold 2,209 carats of emerald for $146,300, an official said on Wednesday.

Mohammad Qasim Amir, director of the department, said more than 110 traders from Panjsher, Kabul, Kapisa, Parwan, Logar, Takhar, Baghlan and Uruzgan provinces took part in the auction.

He said the emeralds sold had been extracted from 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 550 sites.

Hz/ma