Diamond panning a dying profession

BANJARMASIN, South Kalimantan: Traditional diamond panning, once the pride of the district town of Martapura, is now a dying profession, Antara said yesterday.

Banjar Regent Abdul Madjid said many people in the area have abandoned the profession altogether because it no longer provides them with sufficient income.

Most have switched to farming or coal mining, a new and financially more promising profession.

Traditional panning at one time was a major tourist attraction. The panners used simple tools to dig up the soil, which they then washed in a nearby river in the hope of extracting diamonds. (emb)