Important Emerald Mines In The World
Important Emerald Mines In The World
by Mark
Emerald deposits are found all over the world, the primary mines being in parts of USA, Brazil, Madagascar, Africa, India and Australia.
SUMMARY: Emerald deposits are found all over the world, the primary mines being in parts of USA, Brazil, Madagascar, Africa, India and Australia.
Emeralds – Their use and their origins have been traced back to India and Egypt, to about 5000 years ago with the name being derived from the Greek word ‘smaragdos’ meaning the ‘green stone’. The 2205 carat “jug”, cut from a single crystal in the Viennese treasury is one of the famous crystals. The May birthstone and the stone for 20th and 35th anniversaries is the Emerald.
Courtesy: Orbital Joe
Emerald is a ‘cyclosilicate’ and it is mostly found in a crystal form and it is a hexagonal prismatic. An emerald is a deep green beryl with a vitreous luster that comes in a hardness scale of 7.5-8. The emeralds chemical composition is aluminum beryllium silicate Al2Be3 (Si6O18). It is sensitive to heat and pressure due to which it has a brittle tenacity and conchoidal fracture. Beryl has a specific gravity of average to medium high 2.66 – 2.87 with a refractive index of 1.562 – 1.602 and may have an uneven distribution of color, though its color is stable in heat and light. It is also possible to have cat’s eye and asterism stones also. The chromium, also called the impurity element and possibly some vanadium give emeralds their green color. The general belief is that chromium is what defines the emerald whereas vanadium is just green beryl. Emerald, with a dispersion of 0.014, is transparent but generally clouded with inclusions with a blue green and a yellow green color due to the presence of Pleochroism. It is advisable never to clean emerald in steam cleaner or an ultrasonic bath due to its tendency of being brittle.
Cutting of emeralds is an art in itself. It can be either step cut, faceted or fashioned “en cabochon”. The emerald cut is a step cut that was developed in the 17th century.
Private Emerald Mine Russia
The Urals Mining Co. was founded in 2005 and now they hold the rights for the development of the Sverdlovsk emerald deposit, located near the village of Malyshevo. It has been found that this deposit has reserves to the tune of over 600 kgs of emeralds in the C1 and the C2 types. This private company is the first to be seen in the Russian market for emeralds. No other mine is operating in Russia as of now.
North Carolina
In the United States, the Emerald Hollow Mine is open for prospecting and it is the only mine to do so. This mine sits snug at the foothills of the Brushy Mountains in North Carolina in the small town of Hiddenite. On the North American continent this place holds the first place as one of the most unique and fascinating geological location. There are over 60 types of minerals and gems that occur naturally and you will find some rare gems like the garnet, topaz, aquamarine, citrine, amethyst, sapphire, quartz crystals to name a few. Hiddenite is a very rare gemstone and it can be found only in Hiddenite the village.
Columbia
There are the various geological conditions in which beryl is found and this includes conditions like metamorphic schist, greisens and volcanic rhyolites which are hydro thermally formed. The Columbian deposits are hydrothermal in origin and the hot water passes through the calcite rich rocks. The Columbian mines have deposits of emeralds that can be distinguished by their matrix rock. The deposits are hand worked and the gems are unearthed from the white and gray calcite of the pegmatic veins and from carbonaceous shale. Unfortunately about 70% of these are lost in the process of faceting.
Minas Gerais Mining Locations Brazil
Minas Gerais means “general Mines” and the state of Minas Gerais was created by the Portuguese colonists in the year 1720 while on a quest for gold, gems and other treasures.
To the north East lie the cities of Teófilo Otoni and Governador Valadares and these hold the reputation of being among the major industries of gemstone, as they are located very close to some of the richest gem mines of Brazil. There are large amounts of gems like diamonds, kunzite, aquamarine and emeralds, Chrysoberyl and tourmaline and also morganite.
Emeralds from Madagascarrr
The emerald mines of Kianjavato are situated in eastern Madagascar in the rain-forest about 60 km west of the coastal city of Mananjary. This mine sits a little north of a town called Irondro in the region of Vatovavy in the province of Fianaranatsoa. These Emerald deposits found at Kianjavato are about 3 billion years old and they are pegmatite rocks. The emeralds of Madagascar Emeralds are mined 350 km east of Toliara town at the Ianapera deposits in the Tuléar Province.
There are a lot of other emerald deposits in the world and they are found in the African nations of South Africa, Ghana and Zimbabwe. There are others in Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria and Malawi. Also India, Australia and Pakistan too boast good emerald deposits.