Pakistan has not competed well in the international gemstone market notwithstanding its superior gemstone deposits and there is need to change the thinking of the small-scale miners through education and training. Every naturally occurring gemstone has its own particular feature, which should be known before to explore it in the mountainous areas.
There are emerald mines in Mohmand and Bajaur Agencies and Swat, topaz mine of Katlang, tourmaline mine of Stak Nala, Ruby mines of Hunza and AJK and peridot mine of Spat, Naran-Kohistan. Gemstone deposits of Pakistan are said to be the biggest deposits of the world with the estimated reserves over million of carats for each of the deposit. Previously, these deposits were explored and exploited by the government enterprises, but at present all the gemstone mining in NWFP and northern areas is done by private sector.
Gemstones have captured the imagination and desires of men and especially women for ages. The pursuit of gems has become the subject of legends, fairy tales, epics and major motion pictures. Today, finer gemstone specimens are available to the average person than at any other time in history. Out of more than 3,000 identified minerals, less than 100 are used as gemstones. Talking to APP, curator Hamid Dawood of Pakistan History of Natural Museum (PMNH) said the northern and northwestern parts of Pakistan are shrouded by the three world-famous ranges called Hindukush, Himalaya, and Karakorum. In these mountains have been found nearly all the minerals Pakistan currently offers to the world market, including aquamarine, topaz, peridot, ruby, emerald, amethyst, morganite, zoisite, spinel, sphene, and tourmaline, he maintained.
He said Pakistan must look into this situation very seriously. It can conduct surveys by any reputable/foreign-based institutes to attract foreign investors in this sector. But the locals who have ever ventured into such activity have only stories of failure to tell. It is important to stress here that the non-professional residents of mining areas are actually the ones who mine these jewels of earth in their hazardous, traditional way of mining. They usually form groups that initiate diggings, distributing the costs that may incur during the mining period. The resulting product is compromised in terms of quality and quantity. Mining ventures in precious and semi-precious stones are uncontrollable in Pakistan because they are undertaken by its people without any permission, support, or guidance from the government.
Curator Hamid said Pakistan, based on its potential in mineral wealth, can become a great hub of the gemstone industry, on a scale comparable to that of Brazil, provided it takes a few essential, locally effective steps that can enhance the exploration of resources and growth of business. Lack of financial support from the government to the private sector, lack of marketing skill and smuggling of gemstone outside Pakistan, is also a reason that Pakistan is not in main stream like Brazil for exporting gemstones.
