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Important Sapphire Mines In The World @ Jewel Info 4 U
By:Ritika Changrani
Sapphires are mined all over the
world. There are sapphire mines in
India, Ceylon, Burma, Australia,
Brazil, Thailand, Vietnam, USA, and
Africa.
Sapphires are beautiful stones found
in myriad colors like blue, yellow,
orange, purple and even pink. The
most expensive sapphires are not
those which have been heat treated
but those which have been mined as
nature intended them to be -
straight from the depths of the
earth. These are the rich & vibrant
blue sapphires.
 Cutting
a sapphire is difficult as a
sapphire has many colors and a
cutter faces the dilemma of trying
to get the best in brilliance, depth
of color and line while cutting the
gems. A sapphire is valued depending
on its size or carat, the color,
clarity and the cut, or which we
know and refer to as the Four Cs.
The chemical composition of the
sapphire is dialuminum trioxide
(Al2O3) which is a colorless and
clear mineral. The stones get their
color from the impurities that are
present within it. For example,
yellow comes from the iron so yellow
plus titanium becomes blue and the
red comes from chromium. Red
sapphires are what the world knows
as rubies. Titanium oxide is the
most commonly found impurity which
looks like silk needles. This is
where the above mentioned heat
treating comes into play. If the
stone is treated to a heat reading
1700-2000 degrees Centigrade, the
needles dissolve, the haze in the
gem clears and the gem then acquires
a brilliant look.
Sapphires are mined all over the
world. You will find sapphires in
India, Ceylon, Burma, Australia,
Brazil, Thailand, Vietnam, USA, and
Africa. The sad part is that the
best sapphires are found in the
strife ridden areas on the India -
Pakistan border where the political
situation is not one to be stepped
into lightly. The Kashmir stones are
the most valuable sapphires. The
oldest mines are in Sri Lanka but
the blue sapphires are mostly from
Australia and Thailand. Madagascar
will give you superb pinks and
yellows and of course blue. Brazil
has pink, purple and blue stones
while in Tanzania you will find
yellow, orange and blue.
The Aussie sapphire
The mine is at Reddestone Creek in
Australia and this mine has seen
plenty of mining over the last so
many years. Mining right in the path
of the stream is not allowed anymore
since this was affecting the quality
of the water. The commercial aspect
of the Aussie sapphire commenced
sometime in 1998.
Madagascar
Ilakaka and Sakaraha are situated a
little south of the island
Madagascar near a place called
Toliara or Tulear. Since its
discovery in 1998, the mine has seen
active mining and trading from all
over Madagascar is conducted here.
Go past the desert southwards and
you will reach a place called
Andranondambo. Known at one time as
Fort Dauphin, Tolanaro is a
metasomatic sapphire mining area for
blue sapphires where, in 1994 the
first sapphires of gem quality were
found.
Spokane Bar
Along the Missouri river on the
banks of Hauser Lake, lies the
Spokane gravel bar. It was named by
geologists who were mapping the area
in early 1900's and they came upon a
sapphire cache. Hauser was one of
the territorial governors of Montana
and the lake is named after him.
This lake has played a very
important role in the history of
sapphire mining. The story goes that
the governor and his partners were
panning for gold. The sluice boxes
got blocked by some heavy stones so
the miners sent it to England where
it was confirmed that these are
sapphires and quite priceless. Today
sapphires of every color and hue can
be found at Spokane bar. Most common
among these are the blue/green
sapphires.
North Carolina
The Old Presley Sapphire Mine is
situated near Canton in North
Carolina in Haywood County. In
western North Carolina this is the
oldest mine in operation and its
claim to fame is the discovery of
1445 carat sapphire which was called
the Star of the Carolinas. Now the
mine has plenty of moonstones,
sapphires and various other precious
stones waiting to be found.
Montana
In Montana the first mined Sapphires
were found at the Rock Creek deposit
around 1892. Earlier it was abundant
in sapphires and today is noted as
the only place that has quantities
enough to make it a commercial venue
for sapphires. Mining for gems is an
activity that has been enjoyed by
visitors and even Montanans
themselves these days. Rock creek is
the only one out of the four areas
of sapphire deposits in Montana
where the gem has such a fine
quality and a variety of sharp
colors. With brilliant jewelry being
the preferred type among people, the
Rock Creek sapphire has found its
own niche market. With heat
treatment also easily done, this
industry has really taken hold. The
other sapphire deposit region of
Montana is Philipsburg. At the
Sapphire Mountain and at Gem
Mountain, mining is open to the
public. This is a popular
destination for sapphire mining and
hunting.
Sri Lanka
Mining on the island of Sri Lanka
goes back at least 2000 years. This
island has its own heritage in the
mining arena. The island is called
Gem Island or "Ratna Dweepa" because
of the large variety of gems found
here. You will find everything from
peridot to moonstones to garnets and
topaz. Today Sri Lanka is best
recognized for it's the sapphires
called the Ceylon Blue, and the
sapphire called Padparadscha which
has a beautiful and unique orange
pink pastel soft color, very similar
to the Lotus flower found on this
island. The traditional Ceylon mines
are near Ratnapura which is located
southeast of Colombo about 100kms
away.
Sapphires are found everywhere in
the world. This stone has numerous
astrological aspects to it also.
There are varying opinions about its
use and wearing it is considered
beneficial for some while it is
known to bring bad luck to others.
But superstitions not withstanding,
the blue sapphire is a beautiful
stone with brilliance few can match.
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