Gemstone Mining Locations in India

Out of the uncountable gifts bestowed by the nature, gemstones are one of the finest presents. The gemstones have always fascinated the people who understand the value of alluring things or believe in their mystical powers. They take birth from the womb of nature, humans help them to attain their finest form by cutting and polishing-and the gemstones becom ready to take the world by storm. The exquisite cuts, gleaming beauty, flawless luster and amazing astrological powers of the gemstones are enough to impress anybody, anytime! 

Gemstones are extracted from different parts of the world and through different processes. India alone has contributed a major chunk in the worldwide production of the gemstones. Some gemstone mining sites are still active, while some have become barren with the passage of time. India has been the breeding ground for various exquisite gemstones ever known to mankind, from the unique Kashmiri Blue Sapphire to the fascinating Rubies. 

Kashmiri Blue Sapphires have been recognized as an epitome of magical beauty for more than 100 years. These beautiful gemstones used to be extracted from the sapphire mine located above the village of Soomjam in the Kashmir region. The mines in Kashmir are the largest blue sapphire mines in the world. The Kashmiri Blue Sapphires extracted from this location were looked upon as one of the finest varieties of sapphires. The intense soft blue color of these sapphires has helped them to garner the legendary status. But, these gemstones’ occurrence discontinued in the early 1990s. On the other hand, the Karur-Kangayam (Tamil Nadu) and Hole-Narsipur belts (Karnataka) are famous for producing premium quality sapphires, including the Yellow Sapphire. 

The alluring Rubies are extracted from different parts of India, such as Karur and Subramaniam. Channapatna is famous for producing its finest star rubies. The towns of Kangayam and Paramatti also have ruby mines. Madikeri, located in the Western Ghats, is known to produce Rubies in lighter, translucent to transparent varieties. It is interesting to note that the Rubies from these locations are extracted using the primitive methods. Moreover, the color of the rubies varies with the change in the geographical location. 

Emeralds or the Panna stones are found in the mines located in the Ajmer-Udaipur belt. The significant mines of Emerald are located at Rajgarh & Bhubani (Ajmer) and at Tikahi (Udaipur). The mining in Rajasthan is carried on by following the opencast methods at the shallow depths. The transparent and the colored extracted stons are separated with the help of a wire saw and the abrasive power. Moreover, the processes that follow, like cutting, processing and polishing, are required to be carried on by special techniques. The Emeralds or the Panna stones, extracted from this region, are given step-cut or cabochon-cut. Since, the reserves of Panna stones are coming to the state of extinction, the search for new locations in the area of Ajmer and Udaipur is being carried out. Recently, an export-oriented cutting & polishing unit for the Panna stone has also been set up in Jaipur (Rajasthan), which will be operated by the Government. 

Author : This article is written by an expert gemologist who is working with GemPundit. He provides the information about gemstones.