Gem mining: types and methods, deposits

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

Gemstone jewelry has been invented since before our era. But in those days, their extraction was more spontaneous than planned. Mankind began to extract precious natural minerals recently, by the standards of history, of course. By itself, the development of deposits and the sale of jewelry has already brought a lot of money to enterprises and will bring in the future.

Deposits of famous stones

Jewels are considered very rare and beautiful stones. Among them, the most famous are sapphire, ruby, diamond, topaz and emerald. A large number of popular, but not precious minerals are included in the ornamental group. They look no less beautiful than the same rubies, they are just as popular in jewelry making, but they are much cheaper and more common.

The most famous minerals each have their own deposit. It all depends on the composition of the rocks in the territory. Most often, the development of deposits has been carried out for several centuries in the same place, new ones are discovered very rarely. The most famous countries for the extraction of precious stonesthe following:

• Namibia and the Russian region of Yakutia specialize in diamonds.
• Turquoise is mined in large quantities in Iran.
• Most of the rubies on the world market come from Pakistan.
• Sri Lanka is the place to buy sapphires and rubies.
• Topaz is mined in the Urals.

The Russian Federation is rich in various minerals, not only oil and gas, but also precious, semi-precious minerals. In addition, there are some kind of backup workings - spare places in case of complete depletion of large ones.

Types of deposits

There are only three types of deposits that are used around the world: open pits, placers and mine workings. About each a little more:

• Placers are places where valuable minerals were washed ashore by a stream of water. This occurs as a result of the natural separation of minerals from the main rock, soil erosion is to blame. The extraction of precious and semi-precious stones in placers is carried out only by manual washing of slag.
• Open pits are a popular way to mine minerals and fossils in rock layers. The more time passes since the start of work, the deeper the quarry. At the same time, the largest of them is located in Chile, its depth is already 850 meters. If we talk about Russia, then there are giants here too. The Udachnoe quarry can be considered the largest diamond deposit; it is located beyond the Arctic Circle and fully justifies its name.
• Mine workings - traditional underground mines, minedthe gems there are handmade. First, they create a test working, it is needed to determine the quantity and quality of stones, and only after that, if it has justified itself, workers are launched.

The most dangerous way to develop deposits is rightfully considered mining. Collapses can occur if safety rules are not followed. Sometimes workers find a way out of gas or underwater water, this does not lead to anything good.

Mining enterprises

Most often, a deposit of precious stones is discovered absolutely by accident, not depending on technical means or intelligence of scientists. Scientists can specifically look for only one stone - diamond, it brings more money and is a very valuable production material. If a reconnaissance team stumbles upon a deposit or illegal mining of precious stones in Russia, such as sapphires, then they will simply inform the authorities, while they themselves continue the search. A mining enterprise is being built on the site of any source found.

Types of businesses

Of course, everything in this world is divided into groups, and mining organizations have not bypassed this trend. There are several definitions explaining how and what an enterprise extracts:

• Mine - quarries and mine workings specializing in the extraction of gems.
• Mine - enterprises that obtain minerals by manually mining mines.
• Mines are fairly large organizations in which precious stones and metals are mined openway or underground.

All these concepts are often confused with each other. Few people delve into facts and explanations, and most people simply don't care.

Available methods

Not much has changed since ancient times, and the various methods of extracting precious stones have undergone little change. Until now, as before, mines are dug with the help of shovels, and everything that is mined is lifted for sorting in baskets on ropes. Most often, the beginning of the work of the mine occurs near the rivers, where you can wash the rock. As a result of washing, gems are most often found, but only a couple per basket, and again the whole process is over again. The finds of such seekers are sold at auctions or local territorial markets. And already bought stones are processed by jewelers and handed over to large or not so shops. This is how private gems are mined in the world.

Gems without any impurities are considered the most valuable on the world market. But only a specialist can determine whether a stone is clean, it is he who carries out the preliminary processing of jewelry and metals. Each jeweler must be a real professional, he must know all the properties of stones and minerals, this is necessary in order to recognize a fake.

Sri Lanka

This country has already been mentioned as a mining center for gemstones of a special kind. But there are some notable nuances in the developments themselves. The extraction of precious stones there is carried out manually, automation is used only asgroundwater pumps. The mines themselves are dug right in the fields with rice, large working equipment is not involved in the excavation, so as not to get swamps.

Sri Lanka is famous for its variety of minerals and stones, here you can find about half of the varieties of all known jewelry. But the state is not engaged in the development of deposits, for this there are special prospectors who pay for an official license annually.

Easy mining methods

The most primitive way to get precious stones was and is the collection of placers of minerals near rivers. Everything is simple here, there are crystalline growths right on the surface, it is not difficult to find them. Seekers knock down valuable minerals with a hammer or chisel. But they try not to use explosives so as not to damage valuable materials.

There is a way to mine right in the water. The rivers are speeded up in a special way, and the workers stand and muddy the bottom with long poles. As a result, all the silt and sand are washed away, and the precious stones remain at the bottom.

No matter how many years pass, the extraction of precious stones will remain a profitable business, especially for large corporations. But private seekers are not very lucky, rarely one of them can get very rich on simple excavations of sand and sorting out pebbles. In Russia, if a person has found a deposit of precious minerals, it is supposed to report to the authorities.