and variety than Sri Lanka. In the past decade however, competition has
taken place and the new king ascending the throne of the new millennium may
be Madagascar.
The list of gem varieties from this new island source reads like a
gemological textbook. From A to Z, you can find an abundance of Amethyst,
Apatite, Alexandrite, Aquamarine, Beryl, Chrysoberyl (& Chrysoberyl Cat's
Eye), Diamond, Emerald, Flurite, Garnet (Green, Orange, Purple, Red, Green
and never heard of before 'blue'), Helidor, Iolite, Jadeite, Kunzite,
Liddicoatite, Morganite, Quartz, Ruby, Sapphire, Spinel, Topaz, Uvarovite,
Vesuvianite and Zircon. This is only a fraction of the list.
That is the upper end of the list, and there is also a huge selection of
translucent and opaque gems such as Rose Quartz, Labradorite, Petrified
Woods, Fossilized Shells, Common Opal, Jasoper and Agate, which are used for
beads, cabochons and carvings. We are really pushed down to the second place
as we haven't got valuable varieties (traditionally called precious gems)
such as Diamond, Emerald and even Alexandrite and Ruby are rarely found now
in Sri Lanka, where as they are abundant in Madagascar.
Although Tourmaline and Garnet are considered semi-precious according to the
tradition, Pink Tourmaline, Chrome Tourmaline (Green), Blue Tourmaline (Also
known as Parabiba Tourmaline, after the first discovery at Paraiba in
Brazil), Tasvorite (Green Garnet) are priced much more than blue sapphires
(sometimes around US$ 15000-20000/carat) in the international gem trade.
We do not have those beautiful coloured tourmalines or Garnets that they
have. So is it not true that Sri Lanka is producing more than 70 varieties
of gemstones? It is true but about 97% of our gem exports by value
constitute of Sapphire (80), Cat's Eye (10), Alexandrite (5), Ruby (1) and
Topaz (1). All the other varieties together are less than 3% whereas in
Madagascar, the earlier mentioned varieties are in abundance.
With so much interest in the new discoveries in Madagascar, researchers and
traders have turned into Madagascar like never before. Text books on
Gemology are being revised like annual publications. Nowhere is quite like
Madagascar, the world's fourth largest island is nine times the area of Sri
Lanka with a population of 15 million people. It is the neglected, funny
looking cousin of a continent isolated about 200 million years ago during
the continental drift. The island developed a diverse and bizarre ecosystem
with 97% of all non-flying life forms, exclusive to the island.
One of the strange species have in fact given the place little fame it has
enjoyed in the past. Lemurs, perhaps the cutest of all primates, with
colorful dog-money faces were more famous than the many other things in the
island until gems of all kinds were found recently. There from north to
south and east to west, one can hardly find a place without gems.
Comparatively in Sri Lanka where there are not many rivers flowing to north,
north-west or north-east, and also there are no gem bearing source rocks,
north-east is virtually devoid of gem deposits.
During the past few years, almost all the restrictions for the gem trade
have been removed in Sri Lanka. One of the noteworthy moves was the removal
of duty and tax on the import of rough and cut and polished gemstones
including diamonds. This was done in order to make available raw materials
to sustain the gem cutting industry in Sri Lanka and also to attract foreign
buyers who would not only arrive here for buying Sri Lankan gemstones but
also what is not produced in Sri Lanka. So that a buyer need not go to many
countries to purchase their requirements.
Having learnt about the potential of gem resources in Madagascar, I
organised a gem trade delegation to that country in April 1999 as Chairman
of NGJA. The delegation consisted of 18 leading gem traders and officials of
the Sri Lanka Gem Traders' Association, Sri Lanka did not have diplomatic
ties established at that time, and due to poor communication facilities
there, it took nearly four months to make the tour a reality. Fortunately
for us one of my many correspondences to the Ministry of Energy and Mines
had been directed to a travel agency to arrange the itinerary, which could
not be done from here.
The following day a selected few met the Minister of Mines and the Secretary
to the Ministry of Trade and had discussions as to how we can get involved
in the gem trade in Madagascar. In the afternoon we took flight to Tulear,
the nearest major city to our destination, Illakaka which was further 260km
away. We were welcomed by 20 to 30 scornful Thai's who had already extended
their tentacles to Madagascar before we ventured.
Gemming was being done just around the corner, on a hill slope. There was no
water to be seen except a small stream at the bottom of the valley it was
being used for drinking, bathing, washing gem gravels and for all the other
human needs. The miners dwellings reminded me honey-comb shanties in Mumbai,
and Sri Lankan shanties would have been a luxury.
The abandoned gem pits lay miles long, and it is a sight you will not see in
Sri Lanka although we have been mining for centuries. Unfortunately for
Madagascar, we heard that most miners starting point of mining, is the
countries few protected areas. The miners seem to believe that the parks are
fertile ground of the gems, plus they are protected, so that they think
there must be something good inside!
After having a preliminary visit to the area, we set off to our night-stay
in a little hotel at Ihosy another 30km away. We managed to sleep because
everybody was so tired after day's travel. The following day morning we went
back to the gem trading and mining area and members of our team went wild
with having seen the gems so much similar, but cheaper to what we see in Sri
Lanka.
It was like putting fish into the water, they hardly needed a few minutes
before they started purchasing. In the evening we returned to Tulear and
following day I took flight to Tana and back to Sri Lanka via Mauritius and
Singapore, the usual route for a Sri Lankan going to Madagascar.
Our team wanted to stay a few days to continue studying and purchasing gems.
Throughout our tour, there were a few officials from the Ministry of Energy
and Mines to guide and look after us. It is interesting to look at why
gemstones of Madagascar look so much similar to those of Sri Lanka. Two
hundred million years ago the earth consisted of two continents known as
Laurasia and Gondwanaland. Gondwanaland was made of one single landmass of
South America, India, Africa, Australia and Antarctica together. During the
continental drift that took place afterwards, those countries were
separated. The origin of gemstones due to Igneous and metamorphic activities
took place around xxx million years ago.
So it has been established that there is a gem belt running across Sri
Lanka, Kerala, Kenya, Mozambique, Tanzania and Medagacar down to Antarctica.
Similarly the fossils as well as gems in these countries lends credibility
to the theory. Like Sri Lanka, Madagascar consists mainly of Precambrian
rocks, and the central part of Madagascar is called 'highland' and goes upto
3,000m in height. That is why gems formed during the same period under
similar conditions in Sri Lanka and Madagascar are similar. Since our tour,
through many seminars, I informed the gem traders of the gem potential in
Madagascar and the number of people travelling there grew steadily.
Over the past few years many thousands of people have visited the country
and imported gems and have become very successful. Since my return I
informed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the importance of establishing
diplomatic ties with Madagascar, so that the hassle that our people have to
undergo to get a visa from Singapore or Thailand can be avoided. And also
there were a numerous instances where our people had been robbed, assaulted,
gems left at the Customs being lost. It took so much efforts on the part of
the then Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the PA government to make contact
with their counterpart in Madagascar.
But none of those attempts were successful and finally Laksman Kadiragamar
had to meet the Foreign Minister of Madagascar at the UN meeting in 2000 and
pursue the matter. And finally in 2001, the Additional Secretary of the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs and I visited Madagascar to sign the agreement
to establish diplomatic ties.
Once again I had been continuously pursuing with the ministry to establish
an honorary consulate and appoint a consul for Sri Lanka in Madagascar. With
the consultation of the Sri Lanka Gem Traders' Association and the consent
of the Additional Secretary, I recommended a qualified, experienced person
whom we met in Madagascar and later in Sri Lanka to be appointed as the
honorary consul.
Meanwhile Madagascar though not keen at first, probably having realised the
importance of it, established their consulate in Sri Lanka early 2002. But
still Sri Lanka is the world's best source for finest quality Sapphires,
specially Blue Sapphire and Sri Lanka has it's unique sapphire called
patparascha. Sri Lanka (Ceylon) Sapphires are the highest valued in the
world market. Perhaps this value will be remain or grow in the future.
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