Burma.12, corundum, ruby, gems

Lockhart’s 1889 report, reproduced by G. F. Herbert Smith, describes the early operations of the Burma Ruby Mines Limited at Mogok following the British annexation of Upper Burma. It gives a contemporary engineering account of the ruby-bearing ground and the practical problems of exploiting the deposits, including the removal of overburden, treatment of gem-bearing gravels, water supply, drainage, and the introduction of machinery for working deposits previously mined by indigenous methods. The report is particularly valuable as a primary source for the transition from traditional Burmese ruby mining to large-scale European-operated mining at Mogo