The yield from a single gravel-washing session, at a pit in the Ratnapura region of Sri Lanka, visited during ICA’s Gem Mine Tour of Sri Lanka in January. In the miner's ,hand can be seen blue sapphire, yellow sapphire, yellow beryl and zircon.





Washing gem-bearing gravel behind a farmhouse at Naula, in the Ellahara region of Sri Lanka. Because of the lack of running water at the mine 30 kilometers away, the gravel was brought to this location. Looking on (from left) are ICA members Mark Tremonti of Australia, Glenn Preus, Edward Boehm and Jacqui Grande of the United States.





At first sight, this typical gem mine in Sri Lanka may be mistaken for a rural dwelling.





Sri Lanka is blessed with a huge annual rainfall, but often lacks in infrastructure. Travelers crossing a shallow river at Naula, in the Ellahara region.





A miner displays a collection of blue and yellow sapphire and zircon, mined that day at a mine pit in the Ratnapura area.





Richard Krementz III of the United States (left) and Ismail M. Kamil of Sri Lanka, sift
through gravel in a local stream, running alongside a gem mine in the Ratnapura area.





A miner climbs out of a pit at the Moonstone Mine in Meetiyaguda. A typical mine shaft in the area is three meters by three meters, and is fortified on its sides by planks of wood.

Sri Lanka -
the 2nd Gem Mine Tour

The first of Gem Mine Tours, which took place in May 2001, was expertly organized by an Australian ICA member, Terry Coldham. Participants on the tour visited sapphire and opal mines in New South Wales, cultured pearl farming operations off the coast of Western Australia, the Argyle diamond mine in northwestern Australia, and the sapphire mines in Queensland. "The planning that was required to put together a trip that covered some 11,000 kilometers was unbelievable, and Terry did a magnificent job," said Tim Roark, ICA’s treasurer, who hails from Atlanta in the United States and who participated in the Australian trip. "It would be a pity not to repeat that tour again. It offered a unique experience, especially to people with a special interest in colored gemstones."

The second Gem Mine Tour was equally successful, although this time it traded the vast expanses of Australia for a tropical island that stretches barely 400 kilometers from north to south and less that 200 at ist widest berth.
Once known as Ceylon, Sri Lanka boasts 106 rivers running through and around rain forests, with a unique collection of flora; wild life reserves; seemingly countless rice paddies; tea, coconut and cashew plantations; and gemstone mines, scattered throughout its territory. The tour began on January 10, when a group of 20 congress participants, including several jewelry trade journalists, flew from New Delhi to Sri Lanka's capital of Colombo.
Forget about mechanized mining—about huge draglines cutting ugly wounds into the landscape, of mine pits that are hundreds of meters wide and shafts as deep. Forget the conveyor belts running up hundreds of tons of ore every hour. In Sri Lanka, a single bucket will do the job. Indeed, most colored gemstone mining on the island is very small scale, rural, and quite primitive. In fact, if you don't know what to look for, you're liable go right past a mine, assuming it to be a construction site, or possibly just a ramshackle farmhouse.
"There are more than 5,000 registered colored gemstone mining locations on the island," says Ismail M. Kamil, who is president of the Sri Lanka Jewelers and Gems Merchants Federation, and also is secretary of ICA's Executive Committee. The majority of these pits do not measure more than three by three meters, and go down to a maximum depth of 25 meters. They often form part of the landscape—in a rice paddy, bordering a coconut tree plantation, or simply in the middle of a pasture.
For centuries Sri Lanka served as the world's primary source for colored stones. "Our recorded history goes back many thousands of years, and colored gemstones have always been part of it, " said Dr. Mario Pereira, an internationally recognized expert on Sri Lanka, who led the ICA tour.
While gemstones are found on virtually the entire island, two areas are considered particularly important. They are the Elahara gem fields in the center of the country and the area of Ratnapura—the "City of Gems"—in the south of the island. Both cover areas of hundreds of square kilometers.
Undoubtedly, the most important stage of ICA's Gem Mine Tour was the visit to Ratnapura. "I've spent many times here, buying ruby, sapphire and a variety of other stones," said Jacqui Grande of San Diego, who was elected to the ICA board in Jaipur. "It is the most fascinating gem source I know, and coming here is always an adventure."
Among the highlights of the trip to Ratnapura was a visit to a gem-mining pit, located just outside a tea plantation. Several tour members descended 20 meters under the earth. With muddy water dripping upon them, they were able to see how the miners worked their way through layers of gemstone-bearing soil, slowly filling buckets by candlelight. Other members of the tour assisted in washing the gravel in a nearby stream, revealing a handful of beautiful blue sapphire crystals, natural zircon, some quartz and yellow beryl as well.
"While the mines are small and primitive, the sheer multitude of them still makes our industry a world leader," Kamil observed. In 2001, total gem and jewelry exports from Sri Lanka reached $240 million, but industry experts say that with the right government support, the sector could grow exponentially, with exports eventually passing the $1 billion mark. That clearly would buy a good deal of romance.

Join "Colors of Africa" - ICA's Tanzania Mine Tour
from June 26 - July 4, 2003!



A miner at the Moonstone mine in Meetiyaguda, near Ambalanguda, in Sri Lanka, displays his yield after washing.