Panjsher: 2,080 carats emeralds fetch $97,300

PARAKH (Pajhwok): The Department of Mines and Petroleum in central Panjsher province has sold 2,080 carats of emerald for $97,300, an official said on Tuesday.

Mohammad Qasim Amir, director of the department, said more than 102 traders from Panjsher, Kabul, Kapisa, Parwan, Kandahar, Baghlan, Balkh 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 1,721, out of which extraction work is underway at 550 sites.

hz