A debt-ridden Indian labourer’s life has taken an unexpected turn after he stumbled upon a 19 carat diamond worth £78,000 after his father bought land on lease for a mere £8.
Raju Gond, from the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh, was searching for gold alongside his brother Rakesh in a mine in the city of Krishna Kalyanpur that his father had bought on lease a few months prior.
The task usually pays 750 Indian Rupees, the equivalent of £6.96 a day.
But as the day went on, the job increased in value when Gond made a precious discovery.
As he wiped dirt off the precious stone he had discovered, his heart raced with excitement.
Raju Gond (left) was working at a mine with is brother Rakesh (right) when he discovered a diamond worth over £77,000
The discovery of the 19 carat diamond will be life changing for the family, who have recently struggled financially
‘My heart pounded for a moment, but I knew immediately that it was a diamond when I kept on wiping the dirt as it kept on shining brightly,’ he said.
Overwhelmed with joy, the brothers rushed home to share the news with their mother before heading to a local diamond assayer to have the stone evaluated.
The assayer confirmed that the stone was a white diamond weighing 19.22 carats, with an estimated value of approximately $100,000 (£77,668).
Gond, who earns around 350 Indian Rupees per day, or £3.25, and has to feed his family of nine, has been leasing mines on cheap rates for over a decade.
He wasted no time in opening a bank account and is eagerly awaiting the funds.
Gond said that the discovery has changed his life and said that he plans to use the money to pay off debt, invest in the education of all of his children, build a home, purchase land, and might even acquire a tractor.
Gond said he is determined to find more diamonds now
Gond’s family, which includes his parents, wife, seven children, and the families of his younger brother and sister, had recently faced financial struggles.
According to gold examiner Anupam Singh, families in India are granted leases for shallow mines by the government to search for diamonds, with local officials overseeing the process.
Once a discovery is made, an 11.5% royalty and a modest tax are applied, with the remainder going to the discoverer.
In order to excavate on the land, Gond was required to complete a form, provide identification and photographs, and pay a fee of around £7.38.
Gond will receive payment through an auction once the inventory at the Panna Diamond Offices reaches £2,79,763.74.
Just one day after the discovery, the brothers were back at the mine in search of diamonds as Raju aims to share his money with his nearly dozen relatives who are living a hard life.
‘We will work hard to find few more,’ both brothers said.
