corundum, Cambodia.12, gems

Saurin surveys the known precious-stone deposits of French Indochina, principally occurrences of corundum and associated gem minerals in alluvial deposits. The important sapphire-producing areas include Pailin in Cambodia and the Upper Mekong region of Laos; the Pailin alluvials also contain ruby, zircon, and spinel and are related to the weathering of volcanic rocks. The short paper summarizes the location, geological occurrence, and exploitation of Indochinese gem deposits, providing a wartime-era overview of the region’s known gemstone resources.