Bad news reached us from Myanmar (formerly Burma). They hope for an agreement with the governement and a continuation of the mining and milling.Īustralian miners who procuce similarly dark coloured sapphires, sometimes euphemistically termed 'midnight blue', have reportedly not been disgruntled by these news. The mine operators claim that conditions of life have improved 'from stoneage to internet'. Moreover a lot of the regions inhabitants do not earn their livelihood by cultivating paddy but by mining and processing the (dark-) blue to particoloured and yellowish sapphires.

Ironically enough agricultural production nevertheless increased steadily since the mine became operational some 20 years ago due to the high mineral content of the excavated material which obviously acts as a first class fertilizer. The mine operators for example were not in the least concerned about the disappearance of the rivulet due to the mines excessive water consumption.

As is generally known the concept of environmental protection has yet to take firm hold in china. As we have been told by one of them, the chinese government plans to close down the sapphire mines in Shandong by July of this year to protect surrounding farmlands.

Ruby and blue sapphire together