GEM LOCALITIES OF THE 1990S

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GEM LOCALITIES OF THE 1990S

• Nanospintronics lab.
• Sung K. Lim

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Introduction

• During the 1990s, new finds of gems created
  interest and excitement among both jewelers and
  consumers.
• Gem localities continue to intrigue consumers
  because they create an integral part of the
  romance and lore that are associated with
  gemstones, an opportunity to purchase a symbol of
  beauty and rarity from a remote land.

This Article

• Identify key localities discovered during the
  past decade.
• Highlighting deposits that either attained or
  continued at commercial
• levels of production during thes period.
• Newer or less-explored localities that may have
  potential in the future

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BERYL

• Emerald
• -Columbia Principal source of fine-quality
  emerald
• (Formation by crystallization form hydrothermal
  solutions)
• -Brazil, Africa there was an abrupt decline.
• -Afghanistan, Pakistan fine-quality emeralds of
  small size

• Surface reaching fracture
• Filled with oils and resins
• Infilling Process
• A decline in the overall damand
• for emerald and price

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• Aquamarine
• Numerous deposit in Brazil
• Africa source(Nigeria, Mozambique, Zambia,
  Madagascar)
• Other Beryl
• Greenish yellow heliodor from the
  Ukraine(exhausted by the mid-1990s)
• Red Beryl from Wah Wah Mountain in southern Utha
  (Trade name Red Emerld)

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• Chrysoberyl
• Major source Sri Lanka(alluvial),
  Brazil(pegmatite)
• New source
• 1. Tunduru region of southern Tanzania
• 2. Ural mountain in Russia(alexandrite)
• 3. Southern Madagascar(cats eye, alexandrite)
• 4. India(green cats-eye, alexandreite)

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Corundum

• Ruby
• Southeast Asian countries
• 1. Myanmar
• 2. Cambodia
• 3. Thailand (decrease in the last)

Mong Hsu area
Millions of dollars worth of ruby
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• These rubies require heat treatment to remove
  their distinct blue core.
• 1030 ct faceted rubies.
• 4. India, Africa (cabochon-quality material)
• 5. Malawi, Russia, Nepal, Afghanistan,
  Pakistan, China
• .

Heat-treated ruby resulted in lower prices. ?
Raise concerns about correct identification and
disclosure for gem dealer and consumers
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• Sapphire
• Much of the sapphire on the market Thailand,
  Cambodia, Myanmar, Vietnam, Sri Langka)
• Australia Production was down by the end of the
  decade.
• The Tunduru region and several areas in
  Madagascar emerged as the most important
  commercial sources of blue and pink sapphire.

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• Deposits near Ban Huai Sai in Laos produced
  primarily smaller, medium to dark blue sapphires.
• The output of blue and fancy-color sapphires form
  Montana fluctuated during the middle of the
  decade.
• The treatment of sapphires to improve their color
  and clarity remained a major industry in the
  1990s.
• Most heat-treated high-quality blue and pink
  sapphire came from Sri Lanka and More recently
  Madagascar.

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Diamond

• All of the traditional diamond sources remained
  productive in southern and central Africa. (the
  seafloor off the coasts of Namibia and South
  Africa / Northeastern part of south Africa)
• After the breakup of the former Soviet Union, a
  period of uncertanty began in the early 1990s.
  (Yakutia)
• Diminished financial resources ? Open-pit
  operation to undergrounding mining

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• Very large quantities of mainly small brownish to
  yellow or near-colorless diamonds continued to be
  recovered from the Argyle mine in northern
  Australia.
• One of the more exciting developments in recent
  years was the discovery of gem-quality diamonds
  in northern Canada.
• Discovery of new diamond deposits has been aided
  by the use of high-technology exploration
  methods.

• Distribution Changes and Branding
• The possibility of a multi-channel distribution
  system.
• It increase consumer awareness of their
  geographic origin.

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Garnet

• Known source East Africa, India and Sri Lanka
• Ekaterinburg area in Russia (Babrovka River
  valley, Karkodino)
• East Africa(Rhodolite), Diakon(grossular-andradite
  ), Madagascar(pyrope-spessartine, tsavorite),
• Orange specssartine garnet(Namibia, Madagascar,
  Zambia)
• Nigeria(larger and cleaner spessartines)
• Tunduru region of south Tanzania, Lindi Province,
  Kenya

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Jade

• Northern Myanmar continued to be the sole
  commercial source.(green, lavender, white
  jadeite)
• New jadeite deposit Japan, Russia, southern
  Kazakhstan
• Nephrite deposits North America, China
• As China continues its rapid economic
  development, it is likely that demand for both
  nephrite and jadeite fake will also increase in
  that marketplace.

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Opal

• Major source Australian localities in New South
  Wales, Queensland, South Australia
• Mexico and Brazil were important producers of
  fire opal and white opal.
• Prices for black opal from Lightning Ridge,
  Australia, declined briefly due to the collapse
  of the Asian market, but subsequent demand from
  the strong U.S. market brought prices close to
  those in the early 1990s.

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Peridot

• Gem-quality olivine from the United
  State(Arizona), Myanmar, China
• However, the discovery of significant quantities
  of rich green peridot from Pakistan(exceptional
  clarity and large size) created renewed
  enthusiasm for this gemstone.
• During the decade, commercial quantities of small
  piece of peridot were recovered in Vietnam.

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Quartz

• Amethyst Brazil, Uruguay, Tanzania, Namibia,
  Zambia
• The market for natural amethyst has been
  undermined by the widespread infiltration of
  synthetic amethyst.
• Most citrine Brazil (Some is produced by the
  heat treatment of amethyst.)
• Sporadic mining of ametrine from Bolivia
  continued in the early and mid 1990s, but the
  quantity and quality of the material declined at
  the end of the decade.

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Spinel

• Spinel remains overshadowed in the marketplace by
  other colored gems such as ruby and pink
  sapphire.
• Traditional localities Sri Lanka, Myanmar.
• New source Tunduru in southern Tansania and
  Ilakaka in Madagascar. ? smaller stones in many
  pastel colors.
• Spinel was also found in Vietnam as a byproduct
  of ruby and sapphire mining.

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Tanzanite

• The only commercial source of tanzanite
  Tanzania
• In 1990s, tanzanite approached emerald, ruby, and
  sapphire in popularity in the U.S.
• Its single source, rich color and availability in
  larger sizes made this gemstone a mainstay in
  some jewelry stores
• Tanzania also has produced the rarer green
  zoisite, which colored by chromium. Recent
  discoveries of transparent pink and bicolored
  -pink and yellow- zoisite may provide new insight
  into geology of the Tanzania.

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Topaz

• Source Brazil, Nigeria, Pakistan, Sri Lanka,
  and the Russia
• Pink-to-orange Imperial topaz enjoyed a rise in
  price throughtout the 1990s, due to controlled
  supply in Brazil and minimal production in
  Pakistan.
• One dramatic development was the decline in
  demand for irradiated blue topaz, for which much
  near-colorless topaz had been mined in the 1980s.
  Natural-color topaz was not commercially
  available during the 90s.

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Tourmaline

• Source Brazil, Nigeria, Zambia, Mozambique,
  Madagascar, Tanzania, Kenya, Afghanistan
• The early 1990s The bright blue, green, and
  purple tourmalines from Brazil due to very
  limited availability and high demand.
• The mid 1990s Enormous quantities of bicolored
  and brownish pink material
• The last 1990s Even latger quantities of
  attractive pink-to-red tourmaline from Nigeria.

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Other gem materials

• Sphene Brazil, Madagascar
• Scapolite Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, China
• Iolite Canada, India, Sri Lanka, Madagascar
• Benitoite California
• Zircon Australia, Southeast Asia, Sri Lanka,
  East Africa
• Rhodochrosite Colorado
• Apatite Madagascar

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Conclusion

• While for many gem materials most of the
  countries now considered important producers were
  identified by the 1970s, the discovery of new
  deposits within these countries, and even
  deposits in newly identified source countries,
  continued throughout the 1990s.
• The Past decade witnessed some exciting
  developments for the gem and jewelry industry.
• Sociopolitical conditions continued to play an
  important role in the 1990s
• Environmental concerns continued to influence
  gem-mining.
• Looking into the next decade, we can predict the
  continued expansion of gem production in East
  Africa, Madagascar, and Southeast Asia, while
  Brazil and Myanmar remain important sources.