Gemstone occurrences of different varieties are found mostly in the district of Bolangir, Sambalpur, Subarnapur, Kalahandi, Nawapara, Phulbani, Koraput and Angul etc. Finds of gemstones in the late seventies attracted the attention of Government following which the State Directorate of Mining and Geology deployed their geological exploration units during 1978-79 to assess the resources. Instances of clandestine extraction and illegal trading of gemstone also came to light during this period, Accordingly with a view to preventing these unlawful activities and developing the gemstone resources on a systematic and scientific basis, a set of instructions were issued in the then Mining and Geology Department letter No. 11728 & No. 11735, dated the 31st October 1981 in which the Orissa Mining Corporation (OMC) was authorised to take up exploration mining in the districts of Bolangir, Sambalpur and Dhenkanal as an agent of the State Government. The area of operation was subsequently extended to other district.
