14 Indonesian Gemstone Even semi precious stones are rich <strong>in</strong> colors and variation, they have less economic value if com- pared with the precious stones, however, they have important strategic value for the people’s economy. S<strong>in</strong>ce the production sites are mostly found <strong>in</strong> less developed area, the abundance of resources could give great revenue to the village people. This potency can be explored by the <strong>go</strong>vernment by develop<strong>in</strong>g the m<strong>in</strong>es, process<strong>in</strong>g and market<strong>in</strong>g the products. It is believed that the program would be able to decrease poverty and also to create employment opportunities for the poor. Prov<strong>in</strong>ces where attractive types of gemstones were found <strong>in</strong> last few years are: Nangroe Aceh Darussalam (green aventur<strong>in</strong>e, light green nephrite jade and fluorite) Bengkulu ( <strong>go</strong>od quality amber) South Sumatera ( transparent agatized wood, mushroom chalcedony, crystal blue agate) Banten (chrysoprase, jasper, geode, opal and fossilized wood) West Java (fire jasper, calligraphic jasper, silicified coral, steel silicified) Central Java (stalactite chalcedony, multi-color jasper, heliotrope) East Java ( mesolite, flower chalcedony, multi-color jasper) South Kalimantan (amethyst, various quartz, chalcedony and diamond) East Nusa Tenggara ( various colored agate, opal ) Maluku ( garnet ) North Maluku (chrysocolla, blue-green quartz , multi-color chalcedony) Central Sulawesi (serpent<strong>in</strong>e, green soap stone ) Southeast Sulawesi ( white and light green opal, chrysocolla ) Others More new explorations are expected <strong>in</strong> the future s<strong>in</strong>ce many of the prov<strong>in</strong>ces are not yet explored, for <strong>in</strong>stance Papua and Central Sulawesi. Accord<strong>in</strong>g to some recent explorations <strong>in</strong> Sukabumi, West Java has been found blue opal; some m<strong>in</strong>ers found purple chalcedony <strong>in</strong> Talaud archipela<strong>go</strong>; people <strong>in</strong> Banten newly found agate and geode. Among the prov<strong>in</strong>ces of Indonesia, there are 5 biggest areas produc<strong>in</strong>g such beautiful gemstones. <strong>Gemstones</strong> <strong>Industry</strong> <strong>in</strong> South Kalimantan South Kalimantan produces gemstones like amethyst, various beautiful quartz and diamond. This area’s ma<strong>in</strong> product is diamond, which gives <strong>in</strong>come to many people. Based on some observations, the diamonds produced by this area are of high quality. Many foreigners who come directly to the m<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g sites would love to br<strong>in</strong>g the diamonds abroad to be cut, polished and sold <strong>in</strong> overseas markets. Martapura m<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g production reached up to 6000 carats per month. Many large diamonds have
15 Indonesian Gemstone