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Gemstone Mining Methods @ Jewel Info 4 U
Gemstones are treasured by most of
us and to retrieve these precious
gems from deep down the earth crust
one has to go in for treasure hunt.
Gemstone Mining is very complex and
tedious process that requires huge
input of valuable resources such as
time, workforce, equipments and
knowledge etc. There are different
methods for recovering the gemstone
from the lap of Mother Nature. The
appropriate procedure is selected
depending upon the circumstances but
no matter what method is selected
the entire process of gemstone
mining needs to be very systematic
as it costs a lot of money. The
total process of gemstone mining is
so intricate that in spite of putting
in so much efforts there is no
surety of the results. Failures and
disappointments always have higher
percentage than the success.
 In order to attain the positive
results, the first and foremost
requirement of this exclusive
process is to identify the gemstone
deposits. This necessitates the vast
knowledge of gemstone properties,
with the help of this key the
deposits are identified where there
could be the probability of the
finding the precious and semi
precious gems. The route of gemstone
mining is executed all the way
through highly developed and
technical system. But we all know,
traditional methods have there own
uniqueness that cannot be denied
even after developing new scientific
methods. All the methods are
categorized into two types of mining
viz. surface mining and underground
mining. First always the surface
mining is done and then when
fruitful results are not achieved
underground mining is brought into
action. Underground mining is always
more expensive because -
- It takes long working
hours.
- For underground mining more
advanced equipments are
required.
- There are extra costs
incurred for activities such as
pumping, electricity, digging
etc.
Surface Mining
Surface Mining
is done to obtain gemstones from
the rocks near to the surface of
the land. There are six
different types in which surface
mining could be done. The miner
decides on surface mining
technique depending up the
overall cost and time. These
methods are:
[1] Hydraulic MiningIn this
method powerful jets of water is
used to loosen the gem material
from the overburden. The miners
make channels on the rock/gravel
hillsides in form of sluices
where water under pressure is
sprayed. The water pressure
splits down the rock and washes
large rock piece of it downhill.
And finally the gems as raw
stones are separated. This
mining is very harmful for the
environment as it wrecks the
mountains and blocks the rivers.
Hydraulic surface mining was
found way back in 1800s and
continued till 1960s but now it
is stopped completely due to its
disastrous consequences to the
natural beauty.
[2] River PanningRiver
Panning is the method where
gemstones are collected while
washing the gravels from a
river/stream in the mining area.
It is also known as placer
mining. This method is initiated
with the identification of the
gravel which may contain gems.
The best place to find the
gravel deposits is in obvious
gemstone producing rivers,
streams and creeks. Then a large
pan is filled with water and
shaking it back and forth to
settle the heavy material to the
bottom of the pan. The lighter
material is washed over the top
of the pan and larger rocks &
pebbles are removed by scooping
them over the edge. These steps
are repeated until there is only
about a tablespoon or two of
concentrates left in the pan.
Nearly all panning is completed
using the riffles in the pan.
The left over concentrated is
then shifted to a smaller clean
pan. Drop of liquid soap is
added to keep the tiny chips
from "floating." The less
weighty material shall float
down with the water and the
gems, in case the gems are
there, it shall stick and stay
at the upper end of the pan.
This is a very time consuming
method and the chances of
success are very less.
[3] Open Pit MiningThis mining
can only be accomplished under
the guidance of an experienced
Gemologist. First he scrutinizes
the location to be mined with
respect to value of the rock and
minerals below the surface, cost
of digging the mine and the
after effects of mining on the
environment. The monetary value
of rocks and minerals keeps
appreciating over the years so
once it is profitable to mine
then only open pit mining is
done.
Once the location is finalized,
layers of the land are removed
one after the other till rocks
are visible. Then the rocks are
removed and gems are searched
for in the rocks and sent for
further processing. Sometimes
explosives like dynamite are
used to reach deeper and deeper
to recover the required rock
possessing the gems. After the
mining is done, the area turns
into pit which is used as
landfill. Landfill is huge open
space used for dumping the
garbage. Once it is fill it is
covered the layer of mud.
Finally when the trash
decomposes in long run and land
can be again used for some other
purpose apart from mining. This
mining method is relatively easy
and cost effective. However, it
is performed only when rocks are
near to the surface of the land.
[4] Strip MiningThis process
is very similar to open pit
mining. The mining site is
identified; the trees and bushes
are removed with the help of the
bulldozer. The remains are
dumped at the nearby area. Many
small-small holes are drilled
distant from one another through
the rock. Dynamite are placed
inside these holes and blasted
to get the rocks with gemstones.
Raw stones then are sent for
further processing. This mining
is done in long strips so it is
called as strip mining. Once the
first strip is completed, the
second strip starts. The dirt
obtained in making the second
strip is dumped in the first
strip. Similarly it goes on till
the entire site is worked on.
And in the last strip the
remains of the first strip is
filled in. The top layer is of
mud that is leveled on all the
strips together making the land
ready of re-use.
[5] Mountaintop Removal MiningIn this mining method, the
mountain top at the ground level
is cleaned by cutting the trees
and shrubs. Then using the
dynamite the top of the mountain
is blasted for making the vein.
This gives huge blocks of rocks
from which the gemstone in
unprocessed form are retrieved.
The dirt obtained after the
blast is dumped into the valleys
with the help of bull dozers and
trucks.
[6] QuarryingThis mining
method is quite less hazardous
to the environment. The rock
attained from this mining is
used for making buildings.
Therefore, the way quarrying is
to be done depends upon the
purpose of re-use of rock. The
rocks are drilled to use the
left over for cement, it is
blasted with dynamite to use the
rocks for the interiors of the
house like flooring, kitchen
slabs. In any of the method
after getting the rock the
gemstones are searched and then
the rocks are spared for re-use.
Underground Mining
Underground
mining is done when surface
mining is not possible or does
not yield rewarding results.
Moreover, precious gemstones are
mostly found through underground
mining. In the method the miners
make underground rooms where
they further dig the ground more
and deeper. Underground mining
is done in numerous ways. These
are -
[1] Borehole MiningAs the
name suggests holes are drilled
very deep inside the plain land.
In these holes a long huge tube
(having enough space to allow
the water to pass through) is
dropped. Then water is pushed
down the tubes with the force,
the water hits the rock and
breaks it down. The water
combines with the rocks, dirt
and mud to make slurry. This
mixture is pumped back from the
tubes and stored into tanks. The
unwanted water is thrown out the
left over rocks are processed
for gems. This method is very
much environment friendly and
the shifting from one place to
another is quite easy.
[2] Drift MiningThis mining
is done on the mountain sides.
Rock are identified which are on
the sides of the mountain. The
opening is made below the
identified rock. These opening
are made horizontally and are
known as tunnels/drifts. From
the drifts the desired materials
are retrieved as due to gravity
the material comes down the hill
easily. This is one of the
cheapest gemstone mining methods
and gives good results as well.
[3] Shaft MiningIn this
method, vertical tunnels are
created below the mountains and
through the lift miners moves up
and down the mines. The vertical
tunnels are called as shafts.
Two shafts are created. One is
used for the movement of the
miners inside the shafts and the
other shaft for brining the
material on the ground. From the
man shaft, small tunnels are made
that reaches the rocks
possessing the gems. These small
tunnels are used for blasting
and when the rocks breaks into
small chunks those are brought
up on the ground through the
second shaft. After the work is
finished the mines are closed by
refilling the shafts with dirt,
mud, pebbles and cement etc.
This is quite a costly method.
[4] Slope MiningSlope mining
too has shafts but these shafts
are first made slant and then
parallel to the ground. Usually,
this mining is done when it is
not possible to make the
straight shafts therefore it is
named as slope mining. The
tunnels are not very deep in the
gemstone mining method. Using
the conveyor the broken are
rocks are brought out.
[5] Hard Rock MiningSame as
drift mining, tunnels are made
inside the grounds instead of
mountains. First a small opening
is made which is referred as Adit. Later, using Adit, tunnels
are made vertically deep down
the ground using explosives like
dynamite. The tunnels are called
as shafts. Like wise many shafts
are made and each one has a
different function. For examples
- one could be used for miners
going inside and coming back to
the ground, second for air
ventilation and so on. At the
end of the shaft, there one more
shaft is made that leads to the
rock that contains gemstones.
Deep inside the earth crust many
different floors are created and
one floor after the other is
completed. This is the most
dangerous gemstone mining method
and therefore is brought into
practice quite less.
In all the mining methods the
rocks are broken into medium or
small chunks using the
explosives such as dynamite. The
broken rocks are then sent to
the other processing plant where
the gemstones are obtained in
the form of raw stone. These raw
stone reach to the next level of
gemstone processing that
involves cleaning, cutting and
polishing etc. The gemstone that
finally gets mounted to the
awesome jewelry pieces, from the
scratch passes through the
numerous steps that involve the
sweat of many people.
It is very easy and classy to
wear the gemstone jewelry but
the amount of hard work involved
in obtaining these precious and
semi-precious gemstones through
the mining methods is immense.
Gemstone mining methods are
certainly mind-numbing and it is
an exclusive proficiency of
finding inimitable raw stones
from mines that are crafted into
amazing gemstone jewelry!!
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