Sapphire Rush in Kataragama - National Gem & Jewellery Authority

MINING
Sapphire Rush in Kataragama
The discovery of a blue sapphire deposit in the ancient Sri Lankan town of Kataragama
recently started a massive gem rush in the area. The gem deposit was accidentally
discovered in February when sapphire crystals were found in the soil that was being
dug up for a road construction project in the Lunugamwehera and Gam Udawa
junction leading to Kataragama.This amazing discovery seems to give credence to the
belief that even the roads of Sri Lanka are paved with gemstones.
By Gamini Zoysa, ICA Ambassador to Sri Lanka (mincraft@slt.lk )
and Sheriff Rahuman (sheriff@qtex.com )
Kataragama is a sacred area.
A popular destination among
locals, the town annually
draws thousands of pilgrims who
pay homage to the gods enshrined
there. The primary god worshipped
by the people is Lord Murugan or
Skanda; the other being the Lord
Ganesh. Both of them are believed
to be the sons of Lord Shiva and his
consort, Parvathi. When the sapphire
The production of the day from the blocks jointly operated by NGJA and the village
cooperative. (Photo: Gamini Zoysa)
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deposits were first discovered, local
villagers believed these were gifts
from the gods. Since they were
the recipients of these gifts, they
argued that the villagers should be
given the exclusive mining rights to
the land.
The mine is located in Tanmennawa
village, which is about 11km southwest
of Kataragama. The town is located
283km south of the capital, Colombo.
Gem mining in Kataragama
Kataragama has been well-known for
fine-quality gemstones since the late
1970s. Kochchipadana, 18km south
of Kataragama, drew thousands of
individual prospectors in the early
1980s. Kochchipadana produced blue
sapphires that were very similar to the
gemstones found in Kataragama’s
newly discovered sapphire deposit.
The discovery of the first-ever
gem-quality Hiddenite by Professor
Zwaan P.C. and G. Zoysa in 1981 also
confirmed that the area is a potential
gem-bearing locality, not only for
sapphires but for several other unusual
gemstones.
Also located near Kataragama is the
gem-bearing locality of Amarawewa,
which also drew many illegal miners in
the early 1980s.
In addition to blue sapphires, the
Kataragama region is well-known
for Hessonite garnet. The Hessonite
garnets found in Paskema, Ittapana
were heavily included with large clouds
of diopside crystals.
An eluvial deposit of grossular
garnet was recorded in the village
of Lunugamwehera. During the
excavations carried out for the
Lunugamwehera reservoir, large
crystals of aquamarine and green
beryls were unearthed. It is worth
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noting that in the 1: 63360 topographic
map published by British surveyors
in the late 1800s, a nearby mountain
was named “Beryli Hala” or “Beryl
Mountain.”
Kataragama Auction
To protect the environment from
illegal miners, Sri Lanka’s National
Gem & Jewellery Authority (NGJA)
auctioned the land called Seenukkuwa
Watta in Tammannawa in February.
Forty-nine blocks of land were sold
to miners, generating a recordbreaking
US$2.25 million (Rs 270.9
million) in revenues for the NGJA,
which will be equally shared with the
Forest Conservation Department.
The mining licenses are valid for a
year. Block No.13 fetched the highest
bid (Rs 22 million or approximately Vivid blue sapphire exhibiting perfect crystal habits. (Photos: Sheriff Kahuman)
Dug-up road of Kataragama. (Photo: Gamini Zoysa)
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MINING
US$171,000), followed by blocks 6 and
7, with each block fetching Rs 20 million
(approximately US$155,000).
Sri Lankan regulations also called for
the pits to be closed and for the land to
be restored to its original state at the
end of the mining activities. Miners’
reclamation bonds will be forfeited if
Workers dig for blue sapphires.
(Photo: Gamini Zoysa)
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environmental damage results from
their mining operations.
In addition to the blocks sold, the
NGJA also allotted three blocks of land
to three groups of people representing
the interests of Tammannawa’s lowincome
families. Forty-seven villagers
have been selected for this purpose.
These three groups will mine the three
blocks under the direct supervision of
NGJA. The sapphires recovered will be
sold by tender. The proceeds from the
sales, excluding the mining costs, will
be divided between NGJA, which will
be entitled to a 30 percent share, and
the three groups, which will get the
remaining 70 percent.
How It All Started
Mining activities on the road by the villagers. (Photo: Gamini Zoysa)
A road construction project between
Lunugamwehera and Kataragama, in
a village called Tammannawa, led to
the accidental discovery of some truly
magnificent gems in February. The
sapphires were vivid transparent blue
and showed perfect crystal shapes .The
gem deposits’ exact GPS coordinates
are N° 6 22 16 and E° 81 17 19.
The government decided to
Road mine map.
construct the road to give the villagers
easier access to the neighboring
towns. At the time, truck drivers
and construction workers were busy
hauling earth and leveling the area.
Macadamizing the road’s surface was
the only task pending. The villagers
were thrilled. The new road would
mean easier access to healthcare,
better access to schools and improved
transport connectivity for the villagers’
produce. Life was relatively serene
in the village, with only the noise
generated by trucks and bulldozers,
and the occasional motorcycle zipping
past breaking the silence.
The discovery of sapphire crystals
in a pile of earth however changed all
that. To see an entire village driven into
frenzy by a truckload of gravel brings
to mind the saying that hope springs
eternal in the human soul.
Verifiable reports said truckloads of
gravel were excavated from a hillock
by the roadside for the construction of
the new Kataragama-Lunugamwehera
road. One of the construction workers,
according to reports, noticed blue
sapphire crystals while engaged in
placing leveling pegs, which were
washed out of the soil by the previous
night’s rain.
This smart guy quickly, but
surreptitiously, gathered all the visible
specimens. He did not report back
to work for the next shift. Instead, he
contacted a broker from Ratnapura
who took him to a gemstone dealer.
The construction worker was no match
to the wizened dealer. In the end, he
was only paid a fraction of the value of
the rough sapphires. The broker who
led him to the dealer received a much
higher commission.
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A few days later, another crop of
gemstones was exposed by the rains.
This time, the rough sapphires ended
up right in front of a villager’s home.
The mad dash for the gemstones
began. Prospectors, from politicians
to pedestrians, spread out and dug
every inch of land that was even
remotely suspected of having come
into contact with the gravel of the
famed hillock.
In Sri Lanka, all mining rights,
whether on private or state land, lie
with the state. Soon, the sapphire
rush became uncontrollable, more so
since the hillock stands on government
property. The authorities stepped in,
and called on the police to clear the
area of hopeful prospectors. When
the task became too precarious for
the police to handle, the Army was
deployed. The NGJA, a government
body vested with powers to oversee
and regulate all gem-mining activities,
took control of the situation, and in an
orderly manner, blocked the site into
several small areas and auctioned off
the mining rights for one year.
More than 20 major and established
miners from Sri Lanka’s better-known
mining towns obtained the mining
rights to the gem deposits. Alas, the
villagers who are virtually sitting on a
treasure were unable to compete and
bid for these rights. However, in a wellappreciated
magnanimous gesture,
the NGJA has given the low-income
villagers three plots to be mined as a
special cooperative mining project.
The NGJA has also allocated a
portion of the mine’s proceeds to a
fund dedicated to uplifting the lives of
villagers.
In a wise move, the authorities also
permitted the villagers to dig up the
partially finished road to their hearts’
content, knowing only too well that
the road would never have been left
in peace unless this was allowed. To
this day, the formerly level road is
pockmarked with craters – some as
deep as 1.5 meters.
And the “work” goes on.
Mining activities continue at a
The search for blue sapphires continues. (Photos: Gamini Zoysa)
feverish pace, with loads of gravel
being hauled off to a nearby stream for
washing. As is typical with this type of
activity, it is difficult to accurately gauge
the yields immediately. One has to wait
for news of the finds coming down the
grapevine. One thing is certain though.
The authors have seen some superb
specimens.
Geology and Gemology of
Kataragama’s Sapphires
The sapphires are an excellent
vivid blue and come in near-perfect
bi-pyramidal habit – some as big as
the index finger, enabling several
gems to be cut easily from a single
crystal. The gems display a glassy,
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MINING
Sorting of sapphires by the villagers involved in the joint cooperative project. (Photo: Gamini Zoysa)
clear appearance, giving rise to
sapphires with a deep blue color
and high brilliance. However, some
inclusions are seen, which call for top
expertise in orienting and cutting to
get maximum yield.
The major rock types of the area
consist of charnockite, charnockitic
gneiss, charnockitic biotite gneiss,
quartzo-feldspathic gneiss (marble
and usually coarse grained and
dolomitic), Calc gneiss and granulite.
The authors witnessed evidence of
a pegmatite body in the mine. It is
interesting to note that the findings
are limited only to blue sapphires,
with no other accessory minerals such
as spinels, apatites and tourmalines
among others. Occasional findings
of schorl or dravite have no direct
relationship to the origin of these
sapphires. The miners have dug 20
to 30 feet deep in some areas but
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Mining activities at the site. (Photo: Gamini Zoysa)
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no gravel has been discovered so
far. The overburden is rather thick as
a result of weathered gniesses and
marble.
The production so far has not
been encouraging, the miners said.
They, however, believe that they will
hit a gem vein in the near future.
The authors have observed
faceted stones weighing up to 15
carats and well-formed crystals
of up to 5cm. Most of the crystals
contain numerous mineral inclusions,
which are being researched for their
identity.
There has been speculation about
the origin of these sapphires. Since
there is no gem gravel (illam), an
alluvial origin cannot be considered.
A pegmatite origin is not logical
since there is no evidence pointing
to typical pegmatitic accessory
minerals. The presence of various
micas is not evident too.
This area had been excavated in search of gem gravel. (Photo: Gamini Zoysa)
It could not be an alluvial gem
deposit similar to the contemporary
mines in Ratnapura or Elahera in Sri
Lanka. In our opinion, the crystals have not
traveled any distance from their original
source. It might be worth considering it as
an eluvial gem deposit.
Acknowledgement:
The authors wish to thank Mr. Nimal Bandara,
director general of the National Gem & Jewelry
Authority (NGJA), and Mr. S. Edirisingha, NGJA’s
chief valuer, for facilitating their visit to the mines
and providing them with relevant statistics.
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