How is aquamarine extracted?

The beautifully brilliant aquamarine has the color that resembles the waters of the ocean. Because of the name aqua, it is commonly misinterpreted as originating from the sea. No, it’s not. It is an earthly gem found in rocks.

Lovable Aquamarine is commonly found in granite and metamorphic rocks. It is obtained from nature by the mining process.

Surface hand mining, the predominant practice of collecting nature’s gemstones, is open pit surface mining. In South Africa, the extraction of aquamarine gems is easily accomplished using just the hands without involving complex machinery.

To cause the rocks containing the rough aquamarines to split open, fires are lit next to giant boulders. Rocks are rarely blown up with dynamite. Once the mineral-rich rock is cracked open, labor is used to collect the priceless gems. Using hammers, chisels, picks, and axes, aquamarine is collected as crystals that break rocks.

Aquamarine Mining: The Complete Process Geological site investigation is the first step in the gemstone mining process. The EIA-Environmental Impact Assessment is the next step. These two steps are first performed in sequence at the mines believed to contain these gemstones. Using Geomorphology, a highly advanced technical process, the shape of the earth is defined by gently moving the surface and raising it above sea level. This process decreases the depth and facilitates the extraction process.

The area thus identified above is rich in Precambrian metamorphic rocks. These rocks contain crystals rich in minerals such as quartz, garnet, mica, feldspar, biotite, etc. And not to mention the other priceless and precious gemstones. The light bluish stone ‘Gem of the Sea’-Aquamarine is one of them.

Aquamarines are hosted in pegmatite, the veins present in metamorphic rocks. These veins are generally cut and vary in thickness from 10m to 40m. The center of the pegmatite is usually solid. So it has to be fractured and bandaged. By the open pit mining method, veins are fractured using pneumatic tools.

Some of the tools that are used in the extraction of aquamarine gems are compressors, jackhammers, ladders, shovels, etc. Bulldozers are also used to help in the process of extracting these gems. Once the gemstones are released from the rock, they are cleaned and washed with water.

Aquamarine Mining: Aquamarine mining is truly an environmentally friendly process. It lacks the use of any toxic materials such as cyanide and mercury that are commonly used in gold and silver mining. So all hearts wishing for a green planet can wear aquamarine jewelry without the guilt of marring mother nature’s purity.

The extraction of this particular gem is a simple and harmless process in which aquamarine-bearing metamorphic rocks are first split into pieces by inserting air/gas pressure into the rocks.

Also, even after depleting them, the mines are not barren. A 2 to 4 m thick layer of soil is placed over the filled and closed mine pits. So grass and trees can always be grown on that surface and the area is restored to its natural appearance.

This precious bluish aquamarine gemstone is mined incorporating a simple, harmless and environmentally friendly process.