Sapphire Rush in Kataragama - National Gem & Jewellery Authority

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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) www.gemstone.org InColor Spring 2012 57
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) 58 InColor Spring 2012 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. www.gemstone.org
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Sapphire Rush in Kataragama - National Gem & Jewellery Authority

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