Prices for Burmese rubies skyrocketed as the number of stones for sale was limited to items imported before the act. Myanmar reportedly produces more than 80% of the world’s rubies, but thanks to decades of isolation under the former junta and restrictions on access for foreigners to mining areas like Mogok, the trade remains opaque and mired in controversy. Ruby is gem-quality red corundum. 22, No. This complex geology consists mainly of metamorphic schist, gneiss and marble (ruby and spinel-bearing) along with igneous intrusions (granite, pegmatite, syenite, leucogranite) and skarn. 1, pp. The very best color in Myanmar rubies is sometimes described as “pigeon’s blood.” In central Myanmar, the area of Mong Hsu began producing rubies during the 1990s and rapidly became the world’s main ruby mining area. 197-238, (1896). This assemblage 246-250, (1824). Call: +1 760 603 4000 Natural, untreated Mogok rubies of fine colour can be valued at $80,000 per carat, according to the Myanmar Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative. Regarding the GIA library’s holdings and on-site access, please contact the GIA library in Carlsbad. Brown, Mining Magazine, Vol. Burmese rubies are associated with. 11, No. There are also lapis lazuli and peridot mines in this area. 4, pp. A book that contains a short chapter on the mines in the vicinity of Mogok, including the workings of the Burma Ruby Mines Ltd. Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, has been a key producer of outstanding rubies for centuries. Mogok-born Aung Kyaw Zin runs SP Gems, a company with five major ruby mines and 200 permanent workers. The exact date when rubies were first discovered in Mogok is unknown. 19, No. Richard T. Liddicoat Gemological Library and Information Center 26, No. 5, No. 143-149, (1999). A short report on the operations of the Burma Ruby Mines Ltd. The Ruby Mines of Burma, G.S. Abstracts of these articles can usually be found on the website of the original journal or magazine, and the article itself is often available for purchase from the publisher. Ruby Mines of the Mogok Valley, Burma, Author unknown, Mining and Scientific Press, Vol. 19-26, (1977). The most recently found ruby deposit in Myanmar is in Namya (Namyazeik) located in the northern state of Kachin. 22, pp. Duarte, Jewelers' Circular Weekly, Vol. These mines were famous for producing about 90 percent of all pigeon blood rubies. Gem Mining in Burma, M. Ehrmann, Gems & Gemology, Vol. Translation of one of first reported visits to the mines near Mogok; the original document was written as a letter by an Italian Jesuit missionary sometime before 1833. Ehrmann, Lapidary Journal, Vol. In Pakistani Kashmir there are vast proven reserves of millions of rubies, worth up to half a billion dollars. 109, pp. 5, pp. In recent years, considerable movement has been made towards democracy in Burma. 544-554, (1957). Rock Talk – A Mogok Geology Primer, W. Atichat and R.W. years,” he said. Simpson, Transactions of the Mining and Geological Institute of India, Vol. 37, No. These articles by the famous Swiss gemologist describe the mining and buying and selling of rubies at Mogok. Dr. James Shigley is a distinguished research fellow at the Gemological Institute of America in Carlsbad, California. The competitiveness of the Myanmar mining sector lags behind other countries due to lack of capital, poor quality equipment, low skills, and weak institutional support. Following the 1885 Third Anglo-Burmese War in which the British conquered and annexed the hitherto independent Upper Burma, in 1886 the British launched a military expedition to "open up" the ruby mines at Mogok and make them available to the British. On Some Minerals from the Ruby Mining District of Mogok, Upper Burma, F.D. Streeter, Journal of the Manchester Geographical Society, Vol. The information was taken from a report by a British diplomat on a mission to the Kingdom of Ava (in central Burma) in 1826-1827. In May 2012, after the parliamentary election of. 2, p. 970, (1892). The article presents a detailed description of the gem mining area around Mogok. 3, No. A number of the articles were published in the 1800s and early 1900s – when many classical gem deposits of historical importance were discovered – and gemology and mineralogy became sciences. 425-430, (1906). In 1996, after the success of the Mong Hsu Ruby mine, Ruby Dragon expanded into jade mining in Phakant in the Kachin State. Similar reports published by the author in the same year can be found in Murray's Magazine, Vol. Der Rubinbergbau Birmas [Burmese ruby mining], G. Eisfelder, Berg- und Huettenmaennische Zeitung, Vol. This book contains a summary of the geological setting of the Mogok Stone Tract and a description of the ruby mining operations. The rubies from Myanmar come from two major sources: the legendary Mogôk Valley–located some 400 miles north of Myanmar’s capital Yangon, and Möng Hsu–located in Myanmar’s Shan State, bordering China, Laos, and Thailand. 79-82, (1924). 94-100, (2011). These two articles are a summary of an American Consular Report on the ruby mines near Mogok. The rubies of Myanmar are found in metamorphic rocks. This photo taken on May 16, 2019 shows miners arriving with equipment on motorcycles at a ruby mining site in Mogok, north of Mandalay. Brown and J.W. 66, pp. 6, pp. The Burma Ruby Mines, Author unknown, Engineering and Mining Journal, Vol. Many top-quality rubies have been mined in Myanmar (formerly Burma), which is where the term "Burmese ruby" comes from. 636-653 and No. This article describes the Mogok area and the occurrence and mining of ruby and sapphire. 24, pp. Ruby Mining in Burmah, Author unknown, Engineering and Mining Journal, Vol. 95, pp. 1, pp. Burma – The Mineral Utopia, M.L. 7, p. 187, (1900). 90% of the world’s rubies come from Myanmar and … Iyer, Memoirs of the Geological Survey of India, Vol. 1, pp. A similar report in McGill University Publications, Series 5, No. 297-318, (1927). Long-term residents of Myanmar’s ruby mining centre will be offered licences to mine for the precious stones, according to the Mandalay Region minister for forestry and mining, U Than Soe Myint. Burrowing deep underground, thousands of informal miners risk their lives to find gleaming red gems as a law change spurs opportunity in Myanmar's “land of rubies”. 4, pp. Period of the third lease, generally profitable (except 1909). The author presents a detailed description of the history, geologic setting, and mining of ruby and other gem minerals in the region around Mogok. 7, No. 12, No. 141-163, (1988). 3-31, (1957). 1142-1148, (1908). It has significant reserves of metallic minerals (such as gold, copper, and A book that presents summaries of the mining operations for various minerals and ores, and includes a chapter on the ruby mines of Burma that describes the history of the area and the mining methods used to locate rubies. The demand for Burmese rubies has existed for centuries. Kane and R.C. 72-77, (1992). 8, pp. A two-part article that describes the ruby mining around Mogok based on a visit by the author. Gem Hunting in Burma, V.B. Carlsbad, CA 92008 358-366, (1905). Judd, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London A, Vol. 288-289, (1915). The Mogok Stone Tract is, however, also an important source of other gemstones such as sapphire, spinel, peridot, spessartine, zircon, topaz and many others. Account of Mr. [John] Crawford’s Mission to Ava, Author unknown, Edinburgh New Philosophical Journal, Vol. It also reviews efforts made to pacify the countryside and its people. 11, No. The authors describe the minerals found in the Mogok gem deposits, including chrysoberyl, sillimanite, nepheline, sodalite, forsterite, lepidolite, muscovite, topaz and cassiterite. The Ruby Trade of Mandalay, Author unknown, Jewelers' Circular, Vol. The very best color in Myanmar rubies is sometimes described as “pigeon’s blood.” In central Myanmar, the area of Mong Hsu began producing rubies during the 1990s and rapidly became the world’s main ruby mining area. Historically, gems have been extracted from alluvial fields, limestone caves, open trenches in hillsides, and tunnels in host rock. “Ruby and Sapphire,” R.W. This article gives a popular account of the ruby mines and market at Mogok. The most recently found ruby deposit in Myanmar is in Namya (Namyazeik) located in the northern state of Kachin. The Robert Mouawad Campus 1, No. Hughes, RWH Publishing, Boulder, Colorado, (1997). 75-76, (1833). d’Amato, Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, Vol. 216-220, (1887). From 1962 onwards, the country embarked on the "Burmese Road to Socialism," which brought further restrictions on gem mining and trading. ... Myanmar Imperial Jade Company and Myanmar Ruby Enterprise. Myanmar is the only source of Jadeite Jade and the only source of Imperial Jadeite in the world. 2, No. 209-219, (1983). 173, No. 9, No. Because of this, mining in the Mogok area has become increasingly difficult. The Great Corundums - Part II: The Pigeon-Blood Rubies of Burma, D.S.M. 17, No. Mogok is known to the Burmese as “The Ruby Mines,” and is called “The Valley of the Rubies.” It lies north in the Union of Burma about five hundred miles from Rangoon. 56, Pt. Period of the Burma Ruby Mines Ltd first lease, with a profit shown only during 1895–1896 (Brown, 1927). Ruby Mines of Burma, J.L. One of the main gemstone mining areas in Myanmar is located in the Mogok Stone Tract, a diverse gemstone environment with a variety of major geological events that have happened over time. Many of the articles exist in the public domain and can be found online at digital libraries such as Hathitrust, Internet Archive, or other digital repositories. 167, pp. 4, pp. Memorandum on the Metals and Minerals of Upper Burma, G.A. Though the government has not allowed for foreign investment into jade and ruby mine, Myanmar has the potential to attract large scale foreign participation in the exploration and extraction of metals, ores and industrial minerals, especially copper, tin, tungsten, nickel and gold. Do not take Coon Creek Road, Flowers Gap Road, or Ruby Knoll Road.. 10-25, (1828). The ruby crystals and fragments are often sold in markets in Mogok and Kyatpyin. In the 1990s, the Möng Hsu ruby deposit was developed and became one of the world’s greatest suppliers of, rubies. 7, p. 187, (1900). Gübelin, A.A. Levinson, Journal of Gemmology, Vol. 82, pp. This short report describes the beginning and promising future of the ruby mining company in 1889, followed several years later by the failure to recover enough rubies to pay its operating expenses and the debts and royalties it owed to the Indian government for rights to operate a mining concession. 152-174, (1992). Wynne, Transactions of the Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, Vol. 90% of the world’s rubies come from Mogok including the much-coveted “pigeon blood” ruby. 3, pp. 11, No. Several photographs of the area are shown. Mine workers dig at the ruby mine site in Mogok, about 200 kilometres north of Mandalay. While some suggested that the development of synthetic rubies would make the mining of natural rubies less profitable, this author reported that the British operators of the mining licenses around Mogok were expending large sums of money to further develop the mining operations. This article presents a detailed description of the geologic setting and ruby mining operations in the Mogok region. Myanmar and Its Gems – An Update. 7-12, pp. Burma Rubies, R.S.G. 20, pp. The authors of this article give the first detailed geological description of the occurrence of rubies and other minerals in Upper Burma. 5, pp. 5, pp. Gübelin, Revue de Gemmologie a.f.g., No. From 1889-1925, the Burma Ruby Mines Ltd. operated extensive mechanized mining at Mogok, but the company was eventually forced to go into voluntary liquidation because of declining returns and a slumped market in the face of World War I. 812-824, (1901). The author provides general information on the mines near Mogok and the local industry involved with manufacturing rubies as gemstones. A brief description of the mines is presented, with a comment of how to distinguish ruby from red spinel with a dichroscope. In 2008 Congress passed the Tom Lantos JADE act, banning the importation of Burmese rubies and other precious gems into the US in reaction to the military regime’s numerous human rights violations. Gemstones Formed by Low-Pressure Regional Metamorphism: The Ruby Deposits of Mogok, Burma, P.C. The author describes the creation of the British control over ruby and gem mining in Mogok and surrounding areas in 1887. Rubies from Möng Hsu differ in several key respects from Mogôk stones. Natural, untreated Mogok rubies of fine colour can be valued at $80,000 per carat, according to the Myanmar Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative. 410-423 (the latter reprinted in Littell’s Living Age, Vol.67, No. The Ruby Mines of Burmah, Author unknown, Chambers’s Journal, Vol. Particularly fine specimens of spinel have emerged from Myanmar. 125-133, (1913). 5, pp. Kammerling, Gems & Gemology, Vol. Safety . Business and Empire: A Reassessment of the British Conquest of Burma in 1885, A. Webster, The Historical Journal, Vol. The Ruby Mines of Mogok, Burma, D.L. Rubies are also mined in Afghanistan and Pakistan. 442-454, and No. 8, No. 4, pp. When the government nationalized the mines in 1969, smuggling became rampant. 38, No. Strover, Chemical News, Vol. 657-658, (1911). Photo: EPA. Historically, gems have been extracted from alluvial fields, limestone caves, open trenches in hillsides, and tunnels in host rock. Rubies and the Ruby Mines of Mogok, G.L. Keller, "Gemstones and Their Origins," pp. Scott, "Gazetteer of Upper Burma and the Shan States," Vol. Ruby Mines District, E.C.S. MOGOK, Myanmar -- When the world hears about Mogok, it usually concerns some hefty ruby unearthed in the region and auctioned for millions of dollars -- … More recent publications can often be found in libraries, including the Richard T. Liddicoat Gemological Library. 8-100, (1953). 358-366, (1905). 280-286). By Martin Ehrmann, C.G. 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