Pakistan has many varieties of minerals like Peridot, Aquamarine, Topaz in different colors of violet, pink, golden and champagne, Ruby, Emerald, rare-earth minerals Bastnaesite and Xenotime, Sphene, Tourmaline, Quartz. The vast gemstone ore reserves can make the country a major player in the mineral world market, Joinfo.com reports with reference to Dunya News.
The northern and northwestern parts of the country are shrouded by the three world-famous mountain ranges called Hindukush, Himalaya, and Karakorum, where nearly all the minerals Pakistan is currently offering to the world market have been found.
Official sources told the edition that seven out of 25 precious and semiprecious stones and mineral specimens were intermittently exploited and marketed all over the world.
“These are Emerald of Swat, Rubies of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) and Hunza-Ishkoman, Gilgit, Pink-Topaz of Katlang-Mardan, Aquamarine and Tourmaline of Gilgit and Chitral, Peridot of Kohistan and Pargasite of Hunza,” they said.
According to the edition, the Pakistani government should attract investors which will finance scientific mining, cutting and polishing of the stones, adding value to the gemstones from the known localities, and exploring new locations.
Highlighting specifications of the Ruby of Kashmir, Hunza and Gilgit, the sources informed that it was transparent to translucent and brownish pink to pinkish-red and deep red in color.
The Ruby of Hunza and Gilgit have a slight touch of pinkish hue. The main ruby deposits occur in a dolomitic marble belt spanning over 100 kilometers from Hunza valley to Ishkoman, close to the main Karakorum thrust.
See also: Hunza Valley called “an oasis of youth” as local people live for 110-120 years.
The best known deposits of Emerald are located at Mingora, Malakand Division, 160 kilometers northeast of Peshawar, the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
They said gem quality tourmaline was found in the Kohistan magmatic arc Zone-6 at Haraosh near Gilgit, Stak Nala between Gilgit and Skardu, Bulecli and Shingus in Gilgit division and Garm Chashma in Chitral.
Tourmaline at Haraosh is discovered in pink, blue, and green varieties, whereas the Stak Nala is now famous for bicolour and tricolour tourmaline.
Gem quality tourmaline also occurs at Buleclhi and Shingus, Gilgit, they said adding that blue tourmaline was found in pegmatite of Garm Chashma (Chitral). Green tourmaline has also been found in pegmatites of Donga Nar in Azad Kashmir.
Thus, Pakistan can become a great hub of the gemstone industry provided it takes a few essential steps to enhance the exploration of resources and growth of gemstone business.
It should be recalled that Australian scientists created diamond that’s harder than diamond.