Gemstones

Question 1

What is a gemstone?

Answer 1

A gemstone is a piece of mineral crystal that can be cut and polished for making jewellery or other ornaments.

Question 2

Which countries are gems mainly exported to?

Answer 2

CHINA
EUROPE
USA
BAHRAIN
THAILAND

Question 3

Which organic materials that are not minerals but classed as gemstones? Why?

Answer 3

Some rocks (such as lapis lazuli) and organic materials that are not minerals (such as amber or jet), are also classed as gemstones, because they are used in jewellery.

Question 4

Where are Gemstones found?

Answer 4

Gemstones are found all over the world.

Question 5

What are other important producers of well-known gemstones?

Answer 5

Other important producers of well-known gemstones are: Brazil (aquamarine and tourmaline); Sri Lanka (ruby, topaz, tourmaline, amethyst, garnet, peridot); and Tanzania (ruby, aquamarine, emerald, opal, peridot, topaz).
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Question 6

The world’s main gemstone producing country for Diamond?

Answer 6

Russia

Question 7

The world’s main gemstone producing country for Opal?

Answer 7

Australia

Question 8

The world’s main gemstone producing country for Ruby?

Answer 8

Myanmar and Pakistan

Question 9

The world’s main gemstone producing country for Sapphire?

Answer 9

Madagascar

Question 10

The world’s main gemstone producing country for Emerald?

Answer 10

Colombia and Pakistan

Question 11

Did you know that Pakistan is rich in high-quality gemstones?

Answer 11

In fact, 30% of the world’s gemstone deposits are in northern Pakistan and nearby areas of Afghanistan, Pakistan ranks the 4 or 5 country in the world for the value of its gemstone deposits. These are in the mountains of Balochistan Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Gilgit-Baltistan.

Question 12

Describe how gemstone industry has been very slow to develop in Pakistan.

Answer 12

But the gemstone industry has been very slow to develop, even in the province that has the largest deposits of gemstones-Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, In some areas, particularly, many gemstone deposits are still to be identified.

Question 13

Which is the main centre for gemstone trading?

Answer 13

Peshawar is Pakistan’s main centre for gemstone trading.

Question 14

Where is the export of gems being developed?

Answer 14

The export of gems is now being developed, with gem bazaars in Quetta, Peshawar, Lahore, and Islamabad.

Question 15

To whom are the gemstones mainly sold?

Answer 15

The gemstones are sold mainly to the jewellery trade in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Question 16

Describe the difficulties of mining.

Answer 16

• High mountains with steep cliffs rising to 1200 metres and even higher!
• When you find them, it is hard to tell what their quality is.
• Mining is very hard work high in the mountains, where everything has to be carried by horses or donkeys, or by the miners themselves.
• Some gemstone mines can only be reached by climbing ropes up the cliffs.
• Getting your equpment up is difficult.
• The ground is usually frozen with few months of suitable weather from June or July to September or October.

Question 17

Who runs most gemstone mining in remote places?

Answer 17

Most gemstone mining in remote places is run by small groups of miners using very simple methods.

Question 18

Why have Large mining companies not developed the mines in high places?

Answer 18

Large mining companies have not developed the mines in high places because it is too difficult to get modern mining equipment up there. Some modem equipment would not work up there because of the low air pressure.

Question 19

What do miners use to mine?

Answer 19

The miners use simple equipment: hammers and chisels, gas or gas-powered drills, and sometimes Illegal explosives, which can damage the gemstones.

Question 20

Describe the problem of air pollution while mining.

Answer 20

The air in the mines soon becomes too polluted with gas and dust: when it becomes too bad, the miners have to stop work. They wait until the air has cleared naturally overnight, and then they continue.

Question 21

Describe the dangers the miners face.

Answer 21

These miners have no modern safety equipment such as breathing equipment, air filters, or ventilation-not even face masks. Nearly all miners have lung problems and many suffer from carbon monoxide poisoning. But, the main causes of death and ingury are falls from cliffs, being buried when mines collapse, and being hit by falling rocks.

Question 22

Do the miners who survive become rich?

Answer 22

There are reports of some gemstone miners making a good living, but most of the precious stones are not property mined and are damaged. Most miners sell the gems in their raw fom-very cheaply.

Question 23

What projects are being started to teach miners? What are they about?

Answer 23

However, there are new projects to teach people in these mountain regions how to cut and polish gemstones and to set up proper trading centres where miners can sell their gems for better prices.

Question 24

On lower land, where mining is not so difficult,what large mining companies have done?

Answer 24

On lower land, especially near the Karakoram Highway, mining is not so difficult, and large mining companies have opened mines and built roads to reach some of the mines higher places.