Orissa has decided to hunt for diamonds in Nuapada district of the state.

As part of this, the state government is planning to engage global diamond mining company De Beers for undertaking a detailed survey of the diamond reserves in Nuapada.

Taking help of De Beers is being considered to locate diamond reserves in the state, Orissa steel and mines minister Padmanabha Behera told reporters.

The minister said the idea of inviting De Beers for a detailed and scientific survey came after the state geology directorate's preliminary survey confirmed existence of diamonds in lamproite stones available in the area.

The researchers had recently located lamporite stones containing diamond in Kalami-Dadar area of Nuapada district.

State's geological survey body has also decided to undertake massive survey in Kalami-Dadar area, Bharuamunda, Kathibari, Santoshipada and Nangalabadi region of Nuapada district.

While the mining minister was in favour of asking De Beers for the survey, official sources said the global diamond mining giant had earlier undertaken certain activities in some parts of the state.