Gemstones of Pakistan

1 Industry
In 1979, Gemstones Corporation of Pakistan was established to develop the gemstones sector in Pakistan, however in 1997 the corporation liquidated.[3] Now a number of organizations are working in this sector including All Pakistan Commercial Exporters Association of
Rough & Unpolished Precious and Semi Precious Stones
(APCEA) and Pakistan Gems and Jewellery Development Company (PGJDC). Pakistan Gems and Mineral
Show is held annually in Peshawar since 1994, however it
has not attracted much attention from potential international buyers.[3]
Various types of topaz found in Pakistan. 1st row: Pink topaz,
Cognac coloured topaz, Light pink topaz crystal with black tourmaline on matrix. 2nd row: Rare purple topaz, Champagne
coloured topaz on albite, Rare topaz and green hydroxylherderite
matrix. 3rd row: Naturally cut topaz, Irradiated blue topaz,
White topaz on matrix

2 Gem markets
The southern port city of Karachi was once the biggest
market of facet and rough cut gems in Pakistan. However,
after the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, the signicance
of Karachi was reduced and Peshawar became the hub
of gemstones trade. Due to the long and porous border
with Afghanistan, many gemstones from the country are
now also found in Pakistan and since 1979, Peshawar is
the only direct market for all gems found both in Pakistan
and Afghanistan.[3] Pakistan Gems and Jewellery Development Company regularly holds Gem Bazaars (exhibitions) in Quetta and Peshawar where gemstones attested
by Gemstone Identication Laboratory are traded. In Islamabad, so far three such exhibitions have been held. In
January 2012 exhibition, around two hundred companies
from Pakistan displayed their items.[4] The third Islamabad Gem Exhibition was held in February 2013 where
80 national gem traders displayed their products.

3 Mining areas
Extremely rare purple-lavender hued topaz on a matrix from
Katlang in Mardan District, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa[1][2]

Further information: Mining in Pakistan

Pakistans western and northern areas are home to three
mountain ranges; Hindukush, Himalaya, and Karakorum
which are home to all the minerals found in Pakistan.
Some of the major mining areas along with their main
gemstone yields are mentioned below:

Pakistan has large reserves of mineral ores and gemstones. Pakistani gemstones include a variety of minerals such as peridot, aquamarine, topaz, ruby and emerald,
making the country signicant in the mineral world.[3]
1

3.1

REFERENCES

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

Sulaiman, Toba Kakar, and Kirthar.[11] The main gemstones that are traded in the region include emerald, apThe province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has three large atite, sapphire, agate, tourmaline, ruby, topaz, turquoise,
mountain ranges: Hindukush covers the area to north and lapis lazuli, quartz, garnet, and peridot.[12]
north-west, Karakoram to the north and north-east, and
Himalayas to the east.[5] According to Bureau of Statistics of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 2568 tonnes of baryte and 4 See also
85 tonnes of corundum were produced in 2005-2006 and
1416 tonnes of quartz was produced in 2006-2007 in the
List of minerals of Pakistan
province.[6] According to one source, Swat has reserves
of 70 million carats of emerald, Mardan has reserves of 9
million carats of pink topaz and Kohistan has 10 million
5 References
carats worth of reserves of peridot.[7]

3.2

Tribal areas

The Federally Administered Tribal Areas are strategically located between the Afghanistan and Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan.[8] The region is
mostly dry and barren with hilly northern Bajaur and
Mohmand agencies. In the central agencies of Khyber,
Kurram, and Orakzai, the Safed Koh range is located
while in the two southern agencies of Waziristan, the
Sulaiman range along with Waziristan hills are located.[9]
A large variety of minerals and gemstones are found in
these mountains: emerald and tourmaline are found in
the north, and garnet and quartz are found in the Bajaur
and South Waziristan agencies. Department of Minerals is the government department working for the exploration and development of the mining industry in the region. According to their report, 29759 tons of quartz
was produced in Mohmand agency in 2003-2004. However, the gemstone sector in the region is not developed
and many resources have not been properly identied and
exploited.[10]

[1] Katlang, Mardan District, North-West Frontier Province,

Pakistan. Arkenstone. Retrieved 24 September 2012.
[2] Gems of Gilgit Baltistan. Tourism Department, Govt.
of Gilgit Baltistan. Retrieved 24 September 2012.
[3] Pakistans Gemstones: An Overview. Pala International
Inc. Retrieved 20 September 2012.
[4] Gem Bazaars. Pakistan Gems and Jewellery Development Company. Retrieved 21 September 2012.
[5] Magic Mountains. Govt. of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Retrieved 23 September 2012.
[6] District-wise Mineral Production in KP. Govt. of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Retrieved 23 September 2012.
[7] Treasures of Pakistan. UTrade. Retrieved 23 September 2012.
[8] FATA. FATA Government. Retrieved 23 September
2012.
[9] Physical Features and Climate. FATA Government.
Retrieved 23 September 2012.
[10] Department of Minerals. Govt. of FATA. Retrieved 23
September 2012.

3.3

Gilgit Baltistan

[11] About Balochistan. Govt. of Balochistan. Retrieved 23

September 2012.

The three mountain ranges of Gilgit-Baltistan; Hihttp://www.pgjdc.org/

malayas, Hindukush, and Karakoram contain many min- [12] Treasures of Balochistan.
promotions/.
Retrieved
23
September
2012. External
erals and gems including emerald, ruby, sapphire, aqualink
in
|publisher=
(help)
marine, moonstone, and amethyst. A number of other
minerals are also found in the region such as peridot,
tourmaline, topaz, garnet, red spinal, pargasite, diopside,
5.1 Bibliography
sphene, apatite, azurite, rose quartz, and agate.[2] In Swat,
pale green to green coloured emeralds can be found in
Kazmi, A.H.; Snee, L.W.; Anwar, Jawaid. Emertalc-carbonate schist. In Hunza, well formed pink to red
alds Of Pakistan: Geology, gemology and genesis.
crystals of ruby are found, while in Neelum valley high
Geological Survey of Pakistan, 1989. ISBN 978quality rubies also occur.[2]
0442303280.

3.4

Balochistan

Balochistan is the largest province of Pakistan by area and

is covered by rough terrain and rugged mountain ranges.
Major mountain ranges of the province include Makran,

Kazmi, A.H.; O'Donoghue, Michael. Gemstones of

Pakistan:geology and gemmology. Gemstone Corp.
of Pakistan, 1990.

Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

6.1

Text

Gemstones of Pakistan Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gemstones_of_Pakistan?oldid=729489061 Contributors: Asarelah, Mgiganteus1, Tec15, Samar, Gxdruid, CommonsDelinker, Maile66, Truthanado, Niceguyedc, LilHelpa, Rain drop 45, Mar4d, William2001
and Anonymous: 4

6.2

Images

File:Aigue-marine_sur_quartz_fum_(Pakistan).jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/df/Aigue-marine_

sur_quartz_fum%C3%A9_%28Pakistan%29.jpg License: Copyrighted free use Contributors: Collection perso. Original artist: Gry Parent
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File:Apatite-(CaF)-Albite-23830.jpg
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29-Albite-23830.jpg License: CC BY-SA 3.0 Contributors: http://www.mindat.org/photo-23830.html Original artist: Rob Lavinsky / iRocks.com
File:Apatite-(CaF)-Quartz-Rutile-233143.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b0/Apatite-%28CaF%
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jpg License: CC BY-SA 3.0 Contributors: http://www.mindat.org/photo-156558.html Original artist: Christian Rewitzer
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page=0 Original artist: Rob Lavinsky / iRocks.com
File:Brookite-Quartz-152442.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/ca/Brookite-Quartz-152442.jpg License: CC BY-SA 3.0 Contributors: http://www.mindat.org/photo-152442.html Original artist: Rob Lavinsky / iRocks.com
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render.html?species=Brookite&page=3 Original artist: Rob Lavinsky / iRocks.com
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File:Emerald_of_Swat_Valley.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/83/Emerald_of_Swat_Valley.jpg License: CC BY-SA 3.0 Contributors: Own work Original artist: Isruma
File:Forsterite-256945.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3b/Forsterite-256945.jpg License: CC BY-SA
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File:Grenat_almandin_sur_mica_(Pakistan).jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8a/Grenat_almandin_
sur_mica_%28Pakistan%29.jpg License: Public domain Contributors: Own work Original artist: Parent Gry
File:Prehnite-Quartz-118811.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5b/Prehnite-Quartz-118811.jpg License: CC BY-SA 3.0 Contributors: http://www.mindat.org/photo-118811.html Original artist: Rob Lavinsky / iRocks.com
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File:Quartz-Calcite-Actinolite-34680.jpg
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File:Quartz-Epidote-135182.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b0/Quartz-Epidote-135182.jpg License:
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File:Rubis_rose_(Pakistan)_2.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/98/Rubis_rose_%28Pakistan%29_2.
jpg License: Public domain Contributors: Own work Original artist: Parent Gry
File:Titanite-tt56a.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/57/Titanite-tt56a.jpg License: CC BY-SA 3.0 Contributors: Image: http://www.irocks.com/db_pics/pics/tt56a.jpg, Description: http://www.mindat.org/photo-254289.html Original artist:
Rob Lavinsky / iRocks.com
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File:Topaz_from_Pakistan.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/be/Topaz_from_Pakistan.jpg License: CC
BY-SA 3.0 Contributors: ? Original artist: ?
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6 TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES

6.3

Content license

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