Where can I mine rubies?

Myanmar (formerly Burma) is home to the most famous ruby mines. Other major sources include Vietnam, Madagascar, Mozambique, Kenya, Tajikistan, Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Where can you mine rubies in the US?

Cherokee Ruby & Sapphire Mine, Franklin, North Carolina

Search for rubies inside the Cherokee Ruby & Sapphire Mine. You can sluice through rocks and dirt with a screen and look for precious treasures, including sapphires, garnets, and rutile.

Where is the best place to mine rubies?

In recent years, Myanmar's Mong Hsu area and Namyazeik in the central and northern reaches of the country have emerged as the new mining hub for rubies. Apart from Myanmar, these beautiful gemstones can be found in many countries in Asia, such as Japan, Cambodia, Nepal, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam and Pakistan.

Where can I find raw rubies?

It is much easier to tell if a ruby is real when it is raw and uncut, for a variety of reasons. Rubies like to grow in a flat, hexagonal shape. If the uncut gem shows this natural growth characteristic, along with parts of its host rock (marble or alkali basalt) still attached, it is very likely it is a real ruby.

Where are rubies found the most?

Most are rarer and more valuable than diamonds of comparable size. For hundreds of years, Myanmar was the world's main source for rubies. But deposits also have been found in Thailand, India, Afghanistan, Brazil, Colombia, Tanzania, Vietnam, Namibia, Scotland and Japan.

Ruby

What rock is ruby found in?

Ruby is usually found in metamorphic rocks, such as those in the Harts Range in the Northern Territory. However, a more transparent, gemstone-quality ruby comes from a few areas in eastern Australia where it has been brought up from underlying metamorphic rocks by volcanic action.

Are rubies found in the ocean?

Diamonds, sapphires, tanzanite, and rubies are mined from the deepest parts whereas opal and malachite are nearest the surface. To answer your question, yes. Since the sea floor is still part of the Earth's crust, gems found on land can also be found deep in the ocean floor.

Are rubies hard to find?

Ruby is the red variety of corundum. It is quite a bit rarer than the blue gems. The rarity combined with the demand for rich red gems keeps the price very high. Among rubies though, there is no shortage of small gems, the kind used in cluster rings.

Is raw ruby expensive?

Fine-quality rubies are some of the most expensive gemstones, with record prices over $1,000,000 per carat. However, rubies are also subjected to more treatments than almost any other gem.

How are rubies found?

Rubies are found along the stretch of land that borders the Himalayan mountain range. As the continents of Asia and the Indian subcontinent collided with each other, the immense pressure and presence of certain minerals created a deposit of rubies. The formation of rubies dates back to 50 million years ago.

How much is ruby worth?

Rubies can run as little as $1 a carat to $100,000+ a carat, depending on the 4Cs. One of the most expensive rubies ever sold is the Sunrise Ruby, selling for over a million dollars a carat at 25 carats.

Are rubies still mined?

Rubies are mined around the world, in Afghanistan, Burma, Pakistan, Vietnam, Australia, India, Sri Lanka, Russia and the U.S. Rubies from Burma, now known as Myanmar, are considered to be the finest rubies of all.

What do rubies look like in their natural state?

Rubies are gem corundums with a dominant red color. The color can range from orangy red to purplish red or brownish red. The most desirable color range is a pure vibrant red to a slightly purplish red. The red color of ruby is produced by the presence of chromium in the gem.

How much is a North Carolina ruby worth?

A collection of four "extraordinary" rare star rubies discovered outside of Asheville, North Carolina, nearly 30 years ago — which could be worth more than $90 million — have found their way to a New York auction house.

Is there Opal in the US?

American opals come from several states in western USA, where volcanic rocks in remote mountains and valleys along the Western Trail from California to Washington supply varieties like black opal, fire opal, common opal, and more. However, Nevada is the leading American supplier for opals.

Are rubies found in North America?

Greenland is currently the only place in North America where ruby is commercially mined.

Is ruby rarer than diamond?

Gem-quality rubies are significantly rarer than diamonds, though there are certain types of diamonds that are very rare too. If we weigh the most spectacular examples of rubies and diamonds against one another, diamonds that show color are even rarer.

How do I sell raw rubies?

This is why it is better to negotiate with a retail jeweler who sells rubies than with a dealer that resells stones to stores. Selling your ruby at an auction is another option, and you can even use some online auction websites like Worthy, which actually specializes in jewelry auctions.

What to do with an uncut ruby?

Store your rough ruby in a cloth-lined storage area separate from other jewelry. Since rubies are very durable, they can actually damage other jewelry pieces they are near if they come into contact. Placing your rough rubies in a cloth-lined enclosure should protect the ruby as well as other jewelry from damage.

What is the rarest gem in the world?

Painite : Not just the rarest gemstone, but also the rarest mineral on earth, Painite holds the Guinness World Record for it. After its discovery in the year 1951, there existed only 2 specimens of Painite for the next many decades. By the year 2004, there were less than 2 dozens known gemstones.

Is ruby rarer than emerald?

Ruby: Untreated natural rubies are extremely rare. They are actually significantly rarer than sapphires, which is why they are even more expensive. Emerald: Like sapphires and rubies, emeralds are among the rarest of all gemstones. They are rarer than sapphires but not quite as rare as rubies.

At what depth are rubies found?

The ruby-bearing amphibolite is usually found at a depth of 10 to 30 meters. Each core starts with the topsoil, which is bagged because it is loose. Sometimes, a secondary ruby-bearing gravel bed is found above the primary deposit.

How long does it take for a ruby to form naturally?

As the development of rubies takes 20-30 million years, tectonic movements of the earth's plates separated them into the continental shapes of today, all the while producing their ruby deposits in isolation.

Which city is famous for ruby mines?

The city of Karur itself is well known for rubies. Ruby is also found in Subramaniam (also known as Red Hills), near Madikeri in Karnataka. Channapatna (figure 1, top left), roughly 280 km (117 miles) from Madikeri, is famous for its star rubies. In all of these locations, mining is performed using primitive methods.

How do you remove rubies from rocks?

A high-pressure stream of water washes the gravel away from the stream deposits. As the rocks containing the rubies are dense therefore they remain in place while the smaller deposits wash away. The gemstone is extracted by hand from these deposits as they are small and irregularly shaped.