vincentpardieu's TravelStream™ — Recent TravelPod.com entries TravelStream™ news feed for member vincentpardieu on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/vincentpardieu en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Sat, 22 Sep 2007 18:08:11 -0400 http://www.travelpod.com Ruby mining exploration in North Vietnam — Hanoi, Vietnam http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/vincentpardieu/vietnam-05/1190498520/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/vincentpardieu/vietnam-05/1190498520/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/vincentpardieu/vietnam-05/1190498520/tpod.html Sat, 22 Sep 2007 18:08:11 -0400 A visit to North Vietnam ruby mining areas.
Hanoi, Vietnam

We arrived in Hanoi, Vietnam on April15th, 2005 from Bangkok, Thailand . The main focus for this expedition to North Vietnam was on ruby, but we had also an interest in other gemstones such as spinels and pearls.
We traveled first from Hanoi to the Yen Bai region and its beautiful Luc Yen mining area. Then we returned to Hanoi to have an excursion to Halong Hay searching for pearl farms. Finaly we went near Vinh to visit the remote Quy Chau ruby mining area.
You can enjoy our fieldtrip report, photos at the following link:
Vietnam a country I cannot forget

All the best,

Vincent Pardieu,
www.fieldgemology.com
]]> Expedition to ruby & sapphire mines in Madagascar — Antananarivo, Madagascar http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/vincentpardieu/madagascar-0605/1190496360/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/vincentpardieu/madagascar-0605/1190496360/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/vincentpardieu/madagascar-0605/1190496360/tpod.html Sat, 22 Sep 2007 17:53:37 -0400 Expedition to ruby and sapphire mining areas in Madagascar
Antananarivo, Madagascar

We arrived in Antananarivo, Madagascar on June 08 th, 2005 from Bangkok, Thailand . The main focus for this trip in Madagascar was on ruby and sapphire, but we had also an interest in other gemstones such as spinel, tsavorite, and alexandrite.
We traveled extensively in Madagascar first to the south, visiting mines near Ansirabe and Ilakaka driving to the extreme south of the Island to Andranondambo near Fort Dauphin. We returned flying to Tana to drive east and visit the ruby mining area near Vatomandry and Andilamena. Then we took again the plane to the north of the island to visit near Diego Suarez the Ambondromifehy sapphire deposit.
You can enjoy our fieldtrip report, photos at the following link:
Madagascar: Exploration of the new gem giant.

All the best,
Vincent Pardieu,
www.fieldgemology.com
]]> Report about gemstone mining in Tanzania — Arusha, Tanzania http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/vincentpardieu/tanzania-05/1190494080/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/vincentpardieu/tanzania-05/1190494080/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/vincentpardieu/tanzania-05/1190494080/tpod.html Sat, 22 Sep 2007 17:50:50 -0400 Exploration of ruby, sapphire, spinel and tsavorite mining in Tanzania.
Arusha, Tanzania

We arrived in Tanzania on July 27 th, 2005 from Kenya . The main focus for this trip in Tanzania was on ruby and sapphire, but we had also an interest in other gemstones such as spinel, tanzanite, tsavorite, and alexandrite.
We traveled in Tanzania from north to south, visiting as many mining areas as possible but as we lost seven days due to the fact that I got malaria in Umba, and my assistant Jean Baptiste Senoble had serious food poisoning in Songea.
We had finally to decide to shorten a our trip a little bit and could not visit Ruangwa (tsavorite) and Nanjirinji (blue sapphire) areas in the southern Lindi province and also the Manyara area (alexandrite, emeralds) near Arusha that we kept for our return.
You can enjoy our fieldtrip report, photos and videos at the following link:
Tanzania: The East African gem safari

All the best,
Vincent Pardieu,
www.fieldgemology.com
]]> Update abour ruby and Tsavorite mining in Kenya — Nairobi, Kenya http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/vincentpardieu/kenya-05/1190495220/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/vincentpardieu/kenya-05/1190495220/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/vincentpardieu/kenya-05/1190495220/tpod.html Sat, 22 Sep 2007 17:49:41 -0400 Report about ruby and tsavorite mining in Kenya
Nairobi, Kenya

We arrived in Nairobi, Kenya on July 8th, 2005 from Madagascar . The main focus for this fieldtrip in Kenya was on ruby, but we had also an interest in other gemstones such as spinel and Tsavorite.
We traveled in Kenya first south to Voi and the Tsavo region famous for its national park in which are located some famous ruby mines. Then we returned to Nairobi to go north to the Baringo region to visit a new ruby deposit producing interesting "flamingo color" gemstones.
You can enjoy our fieldtrip report, photos and videos at the following link:

Kenya: A gemstone Safari

All the best,

Vincent Pardieu,
www.fieldgemology.com
]]> Sapphire and Moonstones of Sri Lanka. — Ratnapura, Sri Lanka http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/vincentpardieu/sri_lanka_05/1190497320/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/vincentpardieu/sri_lanka_05/1190497320/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/vincentpardieu/sri_lanka_05/1190497320/tpod.html Sat, 22 Sep 2007 17:47:43 -0400 A visit to Sri Lanka sapphire and moonstone mining areas.
Ratnapura, Sri Lanka

We arrived in Colombo, Sri Lanka on May 15th, 2005 from Bangkok, Thailand . The main focus for this expedition to Sri Lanka was on sapphire, but we had also an interest in other gemstones such as moonstone.
We traveled extensively in Sri Lanka first to Ratnapura, the "city of gemstones" then to Okkampitaya, Elahera and finaly to the famous moonstone deposit of Metiyagoda near Galle.
You can enjoy our fieldtrip report, photos at the following link:
Sri Lanka, the "Gem Island"

All the best,
Vincent Pardieu,
www.fieldgemology.com
]]> Rubies and spinels from the Pamirs, Tajikistan — Khorog, Tajikistan http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/vincentpardieu/tajikistan-06/1190479800/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/vincentpardieu/tajikistan-06/1190479800/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/vincentpardieu/tajikistan-06/1190479800/tpod.html Sat, 22 Sep 2007 13:07:01 -0400 Rubies and Spinels from Pamirs mountains, Tajikistan
Khorog, Tajikistan

This travelogue presents the expedition lead by gemologists Vincent Pardieu and Richard W.Hughes to the spinel and ruby mines in the Pamir mountains in Tajikistan during summer 2006. This fieldtrip was part of the expedition supported by AIGS and Gubelin gemological laboratories with the help of ICA to the Western Hymalaya range during summer 2006. Along with them were Guillaume Soubiraa, a Madagascar based French gemologist, who studied gemology at AIGS Bangkok in 2006 and Dana Schorr from Santa Barbara (California). While Richard Hughes and Dana Schorr came by plane from the US, Guillaume Soubiraa and myself arrived from Kabul in Afghanistan where on the way we visited the Panjshir valley emerald mining area.The trip was possible thanks to the help of our guide: Surat Toimastov, a famous Tajik photographer.

After one day in Dushambe we left to Khorog the capital of the Badakshan province. From Khorog we visited the historic Kul I Lal spinel mines and then left to Murgap to visit the "Snijnie" ruby mines which are located in the center of a large area rich in corundum. Then left
to the Wakhan corridor following the Afghan border up to Iskhashim to finally return to Khorog and then Dushambe. The final part of our trip was the visit to the "Gubjemast" company which is mining in both Kul I Lal and Snijnie.

You can enjoy our fieldtrip report, photos and videos at the following link:
Tajikistan: Gems from the Pamirs.

All the best,
Vincent Pardieu,
www.fieldgemology.com
]]> Rubies from Nangimali, Pakistan controlled Kashmir — Kel, Pakistan http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/vincentpardieu/kashmir-06/1190478300/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/vincentpardieu/kashmir-06/1190478300/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/vincentpardieu/kashmir-06/1190478300/tpod.html Sat, 22 Sep 2007 13:05:56 -0400 Rubies from Nangimali, Pakistan controlled Kashmir.
Kel, Pakistan

This travelogue presents the fieldtrip lead by gemologist Vincent Pardieu then director of the AIGS gemological laboratory in Bangkok, Thailand to Nangimali ruby mining area in Pakistan controled Kashmir. This expedition was part of the expedition supported by AIGS and Gubelin gemological laboratories with the help of ICA (International Colored stone Association) to Central Asia during Summer 2006. Guillaume Soubiraa, a Madagascar based French gemologist, a former gemology student at AIGS and Sardar Saeed Akhtar, geologist and assistant director at the Geological Survey of Pakistan were traveling with me..
From Islamabad we went to Muzafarabad to explore the Neelam valley and reach the Kashmir ruby mine at Nangimali. The expedition was difficult as the area was still suffering from the afthermath of the destruction of Muzafarabad by a terrible earthquake in 2005. Despite the numerous landslides in the Neelam valley we were able to reach and visit these mines, witness the work and study the ruby production: Here is the link to enjoy our report, photos and videos:
Pakistan: From Peshawar to Kashmir.

All the best,

Vincent Pardieu,
www.fieldgemology.com
]]> Emeralds from Davdar, Xin Jiang, China — Tashkurgan, China http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/vincentpardieu/xinjiang-06/1154525880/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/vincentpardieu/xinjiang-06/1154525880/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/vincentpardieu/xinjiang-06/1154525880/tpod.html Sat, 22 Sep 2007 09:49:51 -0400 Davdar Emerald mines, Xin Jiang, China
Tashkurgan, China

This travelogue presents the gemological expedition lead in August 2006 by Vincent Pardieu (then director of the AIGS Gemological Laboratory) to new emerald mines in Xin Jiang western province of China. This fieldtrip was part of the larger expedition supported by AIGS and Gubelin gemological laboratories with the help of ICA to the Central Asia with purpose to visit ruby, spinel and emerald deposits.

Vincent Pardieu was seconded by Guillaume Soubiraa, a Madagascar based French gemologist, who studied gemology at AIGS Bangkok in 2006.
Read my complete report with photo, videos and Google Earth placemarks:
China: Emeralds on the silk road.

Abstract: The Davdar emerald mining was first reported in the litterature by Dudley Blauwet in Gems and Gemology (Spring 2005, p 56-57) and three stones were studied by Elizabteh P.Quinn at GIA but Dudley Blauwet was not able to visit the deposit.
We Arrived in Xin Jiang by plane from Islamabad (Pakistan), visited Kashgar and took the Karakoram highway south to Tashkurgan in order to visit the new emerald deposit in Davdar where emeralds were first found in 2000. Until 2005 when the origin of the new material was discloded, Davdar production, mostly illegal, was reported to us to have been traded through Peshawar and Dubai. We were probably the first gemologists to reach these new mines on August 01, 2006. After one full day visiting the mining area, we left China taking the Karakoram highway south to Pakistan through the famous Kunjerab pass (4733 meters altitude) which is the world higherst border crossing. After a short stop in Sost we reached Gilgit late at night.

All the best,
]]> Ruby mining in Jagdalek Afghanistan — Jagdalek, Afghanistan http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/vincentpardieu/jagdalek-06/1153919220/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/vincentpardieu/jagdalek-06/1153919220/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/vincentpardieu/jagdalek-06/1153919220/tpod.html Sat, 22 Sep 2007 09:11:41 -0400 Rubies from Jagdalek, Afghanistan
Jagdalek, Afghanistan

This travelogue presents the fieldtrip Vincent Pardieu and Guillaume
Soubiraa had to the Panjshir valley in Afghanistan during summer 2006.
This fieldtrip was part of the wider gemological expedition supported
by AIGS and Gubelin gemological laboratories with the help of ICA to
Central Asia.
For an easier navigation I divided it in five parts:

1) Introduction:

A rapid presentation of Afghanistan gem wealth, and of the potential
given by the free software "Google Earth" to prepare or illustrate
gemological expeditions

2 ) Travel by road from Peshawar (Pakistan) to Kabul through the Kaiber pass.

3 ) Visit to the Panjshir valley emerald mines (June 2006).

4) Visit to the Jagdalek ruby mining area (July 2006)

In Jagdalek the official
ruby production stopped
2 years ago. The Afghan
governement is currently
searching for investors
to work the mines. Illegal
mining looks to be present
in the area keeping a week
ruby production to find
its way to the Peshawar
gem market. Rubies are found
in Jagdalek from marbles.
Mines are not there underground,
they are huge trenches.
We visited some of these
mining trenches in the Khalwat
area as you can see on the
numerous photos on this
report.

5) Special Thanks, interesting links and bibliography.
]]> Emeralds from Panjshir valley, Afghanistan — Mukeni, Afghanistan http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/vincentpardieu/afghanistan-06/1150979400/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/vincentpardieu/afghanistan-06/1150979400/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/vincentpardieu/afghanistan-06/1150979400/tpod.html Sat, 22 Sep 2007 09:02:35 -0400 Afghanistan Emerald gemstone mining in Panjshir valley.
Mukeni, Afghanistan

This travelogue presents the fieldtrip Vincent Pardieu and Guillaume Soubiraa had to the Panjshir valley in Afghanistan during summer 2006. This fieldtrip was part of the wider gemological expedition supported by AIGS and Gubelin gemological laboratories with the help of ICA to Central Asia.
For an easier navigation I divided it in five parts:

1) Introduction:
A rapid presentation of Afghanistan gem wealth, and of the potential given by the free software "Google Earth" to prepare or illustrate gemological expeditions

2 ) Travel by road from Peshawar (Pakistan) to Kabul through the Kaiber pass.

3 ) Visit to the Panjshir valley emerald mines (June 2006).
In the Panjshir they could witness some underground mining activity in the Bismal and Mukeni areas. The production in Panjshir seemed to be still strong especially in small sizes emeralds but the number of miners seems to have dropped compared to the 1980's. Currently around 1000 miners are possibly working the Panjshir mountain large deposit. The prospective for the future looks good as new mines open regularly and seems to produce fine stones.

4) Visit to the Jagdalek ruby mining area

5) Special Thanks, interesting links and bibliography.
]]>