As per reports, De Beers recently informed Pebble Creek Mining Ltd (its mining partner in India) that it has started ground reconnaissance on the 2,190 sq km Banda prospect, in Uttar Pradesh. De Beers was also planning an airborne magnetic survey as the next step in exploration.

Banda is located 30 km northeast of Panna � whose kimberlite pipes constitute the only diamond mining district in India that has been mined systematically in recent years. The Banda area is nearly all concealed by the thin south edge of alluvium in the Ganges and Yamuna river floodplains.

De Beers earned an 85 per cent equity interest in the Banda prospecting licence by agreeing to perform all exploration and take the project through to a feasibility study. It also owns the right to market any diamonds mined from Banda.

Drilling is currently in progress on 15 other kimberlite pipes located west of Panna, discovered recently by the other global mining major, Rio Tinto.