Gemstone Mining Techniques in Sri Lanka

The methods used in the mining of gem materials are many, from native mining to highly technical methods.

The mining methods used in Sri Lanka are specifically developed and suited to the terrain. Compared to other gem producing countries some of the techniques are both simple and apparently obsolete.

These methods are effective, adequately efficient and generally safe. Moreover the initial capital cost of mining operations is generally very low which permits greater involvement by relatively poor rural inhabitants. Excavation of a mine or pit is usually done by manual labour. The tools used are crowbar, pick-axe, shovel or spade, metal pans and wicker baskets, etc,

However, in some gem mining areas is carried out by using modern equipment such as bulldozers, cranes and generators, in order to minimize manual labour and manpower.

Recently, the government has begun to allow miners to use mechanized methods. an area called Paradise where miners are using back hoes trammels with shaker tables to recover gems.

 

Customs and Astrological aspect in Gem Mining

Gem miners in Sri Lanka need to possess the qualities of a fortune seeker as mining is a grueling task with no guarantee of success. Most of the time, miners are guided by the light of a candle when working deep in the earth They may come across a rough blue stone, buried in earth and covered in mud or end up being more bankrupt than when they started out.

The process of mining for gems is begun at an auspicious time with a short religious ritual.

Up to this date, offerings conciliating the gods and astrology are still practiced before initiating mining as it is apparent that mining is dependent on good luck.

 

Prior to the commencement of mining, miner observe traditional customs by lighting an oil lamp placed inside a decoration of tender coconut leaves, erected beside the mine side.

Buddhism, the religion of the majority of people in Sri Lanka, is given a place of preference in the national constitution and public life, although Hinduism, Islam, and Christianity are also practiced by significant portions of the population.

 

Except in the case of Christians, who are drawn from a variety of ethnic groups, these religious traditions map directly onto the three major ethnic groups: Sinhala/Buddhist, Tamil/Hindu, and Muslims.

Among the participants in both of these religions, there is also a belief in a broad pantheon of gods, spirits, and demons, into which many local deities have been absorbed.

The time and date for the commencement of work is usually obtained from an astrologer.  Many religious ceremonies are observed, some varying in different parts of the country because of it being dedicated to the patron deity of the region.

In Ratnapura, a location abundant with gems, offerings are presented to the deity Saman. Offerings are also presented to Bahiravaya, the guardian angel or sprit responsible for the treasures buried under the earth. Among Sinhalese this offering is called bahirava pooja.

 

The Gem Mining Industry in Sri Lanka

Gem bearing gravel and gem deposits are mainly scattered across the central part of the country in the Sabaragamuwa province covering an area of about ninety kilometers radius from Ratnapura – the “city of gems”. It is estimated that over 10,000 gem mines or pits exist in the Sabaragamuwa province alone, mostly near rivers. Nearly 50,000 people are engaged in the gem mining industry.

For over 2500 years the Sri Lankan gem mining industry has proven to be successful. This is mainly because of the unique customary mining methods and it being the oldest form of collaborative labor in the country.

The mining operation for gems has been virtually the same since the days of the Alexander the Great or perhaps the Pharaohs times except for the modern addition of the water pumps for dewatering of the pits. The supports for the excavations are still mostly the logs. Labor is provided as a share to the earnings as well as the equipment; materials as well as the daily expenses such as food too are contributed as a share.

Mining for gems carried out on a co-operative basis. A number of people form a group and share the costs, labor and profits from the sale of any gemstone found. Such a group is known as KARUHAVULA. Its key personnel or partners are the investor and the miner. The investor finances the entire project up to the sorting stage and the miner is to decide on a suitable site and keep excavating until they reach a gem bearing layer known as illama.
Gem miners in Sri Lanka

Miners are in reality fortune seekers. It is they who select a suitable site, excavate, collect the gravel, wash and examine it. Generally, miners are paid weekly. The others involved in KARUHAVULA include the owners of the land, the water pump and the supplier of the timber and logs used for lining the pit.

Getting a precious gemstone depends on chance and if there is nothing, the sponsor has to bear the whole cost. But if a precious stone is found the sponsor can bid a price but there is the option to seek a better price in the market. After the gem is sold either at the mine site, gem auction, gem fair or at a purchasing centre, the miners receive a percentage of the profit.

The amounts vary according to the quality and variety of the stone sold. The land owner gets 20 percent, water pump owner – 20 percent and the mine licensee 10 percent. The balance 50 percent is divided equally between the sponsor and the mine workers. Therefore, the sponsor has a 25 percent share and in most cases the water pump and licensee share too goes to the sponsor as he owns them.

As a matter of fact, other payments are also made to others on a commission basis. The owner of the land and the supplier of the water pump are given ‘wages’ which are calculated as a percentage of the total gross realization.

The head of the mine, the mine owner, oversees various authorized actions and requirements. Small gems are sold directly to the resellers, while big gemstones are put up for auction.

The running and organization of a mine site requires certain specific skills and quite a few years of experience in the gem industry. Majority of gem miners were previously miners and are usually in their middle ages.

 

History of Gem Trade in Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka  was anciently known as Taprobane, which means copper colored in Greek. The indigenous Veddahs noticed colored rocks splayed across the sandy bottoms of the river they used to bathe in. This was before the Buddhist monks began adorning crude jewelry with these stones. Ancient Chines and Greek historians mentioned about the attractive gems of Ceylon which were used repeatedly by King Solomon to woo the Queen of Sheba. The term ‘mani’ jewel originated from the Sinhala and Sanskrit words- manikya or menik.

History proves that gem industry flourished in Sri Lanka even in the past and gems had been ranked a major export item then. The use of precious stones in decoration purposes can be identified in varied forms when ancient rulers had ascribed a great value to them. Most obviously, precious stones were lavishly exploited to embellish palaces, religious places and they were stored up as valuable things in royal treasure houses. The rulers and the royalty wore the jewellery studded with gems and there were villages of gem cutters who manufactured jewellery and attractive precious stones for those of the higher classes.

There is an interesting account of a group of people called Mukkuwars who were closely connected with precious stones. This unique ethnic group probably immigrated to Sri Lanka from India or some Arabian country in order to seek wealth hidden in Sri Lanka – the precious stones.

Scattered legends associated with the operations of Mukkuwars in Sri Lanka narrate their strange practices in excavating the ground for signs of gems. They definitely found gems in some sites and regions because they applied their own science to locate earth with gems. In keeping with the popular legends, Mukkuwars worked hard excavating the earth for gems and if ever one of them died, they would bury him along with his own valuables and precious stones.

Therefore, the graves of Mukkuwars were subsequently believed to be treasures in the earth. This practice reminds us of the Pharaoh tradition of keeping precious objects loved by a dead ruler alongside the dead body inside the pyramid.

According to the chronicles, Sri Lankan gem industry has a very long history and dates back even before the 6th century B.C… It is one of the oldest industries, which for centuries has supplied the gem market with a large number and wide variety of Gemstone which still plays a major contribution to Sri Lankan economy.

Various references to the precious gems of Sri Lanka are found in many historical records of the island. One of the records being of the “Buddhist Countries” (around 412 A.D.) by Fa-hsien, the Chinese Buddhist monk states “… there is a district of about 10 square limit which produces the mani jewel. The king has posted guards here, and takes a levy of three tenths of the jewels that are found.”

 

Marco Polo’s recorded visit in the year 1292 states that, “I want you to understand that the Island of Ceylon is for its size, the finest island in the world, and from its streams comes rubies, sapphires, topazes, amethyst and garnet.” Apart from overpopulation and a faltering economy, not much has changed of Sri Lanka since Marco Polo’s time.

 

 

Another record, “The Historic Tragedy of the Island Of Ceylon” (1685 A.D.) by Joao Ribeiro, a Portuguese Army Captain. His Description of Sri Lanka’s gems states “…Here are all the valleys and mountains that are full of them and are obtained with little trouble; such as rubies, the finest that can be found anywhere within our discoveries, all in separate crystals; sapphires, topazes (some of them of extraordinary size) cat’s eyes…garnets, beryl, jacinth, tourmalines and various others, which are held in no account there, since they are the stones with which the river beds are furnished”

Buddhists from north India were travelling to Sri Lanka and came across the precious gems while bathing in the rivers and streams of the island. The corrosion of the rocks gave rise to extended deposits loaded with precious gems in the riverbeds of streams located in valleys at a lower altitude. These attractive gems adorned their frequently worn accessories like rings, bracelets and armlets. These stones were then traded throughout their travels in different parts of Asia and Europe. That is how the gems of Sri Lanka came to be known in different parts of the world.

Portuguese period

 The gems found in any region of the country were considered state property during the Portuguese period. There were special officials appointed by the state to supervise the work of obtaining gems in rivers and mines during this period. There were officials such as Akara Vidane, Kanaka Pulles and Mohottalas who were in charge of gem mining and they were supported by a few experienced gem miners.

During the Portuguese period, mining for gems took place within the spell from January to April, in addition to mining, gem cutting too was a major industry in the country and the Portuguese accumulated immense wealth that was chiefly invested in their colonial projects, according to their documents. Historical writings made by foreign travellers provide a great deal of information regarding the use of precious stones in the period. The Portuguese made arrangements to sell the gems found in Sri Lanka at special gem markets in Kochin and Gova.

According to the records made by John Dave, all the gems found in the country was a property owned by the king in the Kandyan Kingdom. During this period, gem mining took place under the permission and supervision by the king who used the gems to decorate the palace and religious institutions. The precious stones were chiefly used to embellish the king’s crown, ear rings, throne, bracelets and certain statues in the palace. Dave reveals in his writings that the common precious stones found in Sri Lanka were blue sapphires, rubies, tourmalines, quartz, amethyst, garnets and topaz. Some of these were semi precious stones.

John Dave claims that the king and the royalty lavishly exploited gems for varied projects and goes on to say that the kings presented gems and jewellery to the most gifted officials and foreign envoys. The kings in their coronation wore a special gold plated garment inset with the best precious stones such as rubies, sapphires, diamonds and topaz.

The king sometimes carried a stick decorated with precious stones and had his armed vehicles studded with (semi) precious stones such as garnets or quartz. During this period, cutting and polishing of gems had been widespread among many districts and the cut and polished gemstones were fixed on (royal) garments and ornaments.

Gems were inserted into the eyes of ancient Buddha statues and there have been traditions to insert gems to many parts of a statue or even to the aureole of Buddha statues. The crown of Sri Lankan kings bears the marks of having been extravagantly embellished with gems. The elaborate crown worn by Sri Wickrama Rajasinghe (which is kept on display in the National Museum) speaks volumes for the practice of fixing many gems on the crown worn by Kandyan kings such as Sri Wickrama Rajasinghe, and king Wimaladharmasuriya.

 

Ratna Deepa’ (“The Island of Gems”)

The gemstones that Sri Lanka has treasured in her bosom are priceless, unique and irreplaceable.. The gem industry has been a highly lucrative and popular industry in the island since the distant past and it still is. The tropical island of Sri Lanka was once lovingly nicknamed by the Arabs as ‘Jazirat Kakut’ and by the locals as ‘Ratna Deepa’,( “island of gems’) because of the spectacular range of jewels found in its gravelly soil.

 

Nature has blessed the island of Sri Lanka with a great variety of Gem minerals that are rare and of extremely high quality, proudly finding its way into many royal crowns and thrones throughout the world. These gems are the prized possessions of royalty and the rich and famous through the ages right up to this day.

Sri Lanka lies 32 kilometers to the east of southernmost extremity of the peninsular of India. As it resembles a pearl, it is also known as the Pearl of the Indian Ocean and some of the names given in the past include Shri Lanka ,Serendib, Taprobane,Seilan, and Thambapanni.

The island covers an area of 65609 square kilometers. It is 477 kilometers long and 225 kilometers at its at narrowest width. A shallow sea, Palk Strait, which at its narrowest is about 40 kilometers wide, separates Sri Lanka from India.

The history of the gems of Sri Lanka can be traced back some 3,000years or so. They are part of many legends, folk lore and literary works. Sri Lanka’s gems are much written about by early travelers from Europe, Arabia and Asia. 

The most superb gemstones discovered in our country have earned higher celebration, honor and renown for Sri Lanka in the global gem market. These rare gems have succeeded in elevating the international renown of the country and made international gem experts depend on Sri Lanka for more and more precious stones of best quality. This happened in the history and this continues to do so in the present day and future.