Friday, February 4, 2011
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Photos of rough - July 2009 Tanzania trip
Here's some pics of a portion of the rough I picked up on this trip.
Classic red Garnets are found in numerous locations through out east Africa. These are from the Tanga region.
Scapolite. Doesn't look like much here, but when cut properly, and on the proper axis, it really comes to life.
Spessartites from the Loliondo property in northern Tanzania.
Zircon crystals from the Tanga region. After some gentle heating, they may convert to red or orange.
Aquamarine from Mozambique
Malaya Garnet
Malaya Garnet
Very fine Congo Tourmaline
Congo Tourmaline
Chrome Tourmaline
Chrome Tourmaline
Umba Sapphire
Classic red Garnets are found in numerous locations through out east Africa. These are from the Tanga region.
Scapolite. Doesn't look like much here, but when cut properly, and on the proper axis, it really comes to life.
Spessartites from the Loliondo property in northern Tanzania.
Zircon crystals from the Tanga region. After some gentle heating, they may convert to red or orange.
Aquamarine from Mozambique
Malaya Garnet
Malaya Garnet
Very fine Congo Tourmaline
Congo Tourmaline
Chrome Tourmaline
Chrome Tourmaline
Umba Sapphire
visiting villages in Merelani and Lolatema
Day IV - July 2009
We eventually worked our way out of Arusha as we all had a desire to visit with local miners and to visit the no-name villages scattered throughout the district. Our broker was not convinced this was a good idea. But we all wanted to see exactly where the goods came from. So we were able to visit one village that we could drive to, and was less than two hours away from Arusha's city centre.
Picking up more accurate directions from the locals.
Of course the directions only get us to another village, but not the one we wanted to visit.
From the above village, we were able to acquire a more accurate picture of how to get to this very small village shown below.
And here's where we met up with some of the local boys. They didn't have a command of english, but we had fun with them anyway.
These were just huts in the village, but the locals have been collecting crystals they find on the ground as they graze their animals. And that is why we were there. It was kinda funny for us, as they were asking 5 or 10 times what we could buy the stuff for in town. But we kept at it for over an hour and eventually the price came down out of the stratosphere and we were able to buy some.
We eventually worked our way out of Arusha as we all had a desire to visit with local miners and to visit the no-name villages scattered throughout the district. Our broker was not convinced this was a good idea. But we all wanted to see exactly where the goods came from. So we were able to visit one village that we could drive to, and was less than two hours away from Arusha's city centre.
Picking up more accurate directions from the locals.
Of course the directions only get us to another village, but not the one we wanted to visit.
From the above village, we were able to acquire a more accurate picture of how to get to this very small village shown below.
These were just huts in the village, but the locals have been collecting crystals they find on the ground as they graze their animals. And that is why we were there. It was kinda funny for us, as they were asking 5 or 10 times what we could buy the stuff for in town. But we kept at it for over an hour and eventually the price came down out of the stratosphere and we were able to buy some.
Buying action in Arusha
Day III
There were moments of intensity as we all looked at goods. Here is one of those moments... as we contemplate spending serious funds on green stones, Tsavorite that is.
Even as we came and went on the street, opportunities presented themselves. Like this one...
And this one.
We're up on the 3rd floor of the dealer's building. Looking down out the back door, we have a view of the street dealers working the area. The building visible on the right side of the photo also houses a local lapidary school - though we weren't allowed to visit it until over a year later.
There were moments of intensity as we all looked at goods. Here is one of those moments... as we contemplate spending serious funds on green stones, Tsavorite that is.
Even as we came and went on the street, opportunities presented themselves. Like this one...
And this one.
We're up on the 3rd floor of the dealer's building. Looking down out the back door, we have a view of the street dealers working the area. The building visible on the right side of the photo also houses a local lapidary school - though we weren't allowed to visit it until over a year later.
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