gems, corundum, Malaysia.12

During the course of a mine inspection, the writer discovered a few poor quality sapphire crystals associated with topaz in a pegmatitic host rock in the Chenderiang area. The sapphire crystals are dark to light blue, some are translucent to opaque and occur as hexagonal prisms. So far as the writer knows this is the first occurrence of sapphire crystals found in situ in pegmatites in Peninsular Malaysia. F. T. Ingham and E. F. Bradford (1960) in Geology and Mineral Resources of the Kinta Valley, Perak", reported that very poor specimens of sapphire have been found in a micaceous matrix in a tin mine at Chenderiang and minute crystals associated with tourmaline-corundum rocks have been reported from near Siputeh in Perak. There are records in the Geological Survey of traces of sapphire in the Sg. Raia in Perak and poor grade rubies have been uncovered at Chenderiang on rare occasions. Other localities where sapphires have been found by the writer as pebbles and minute crystals are from the discarded heavy minerals of the tin dressing sheds, at the mine holes and mine dumps at Batu Gajah, Pusing, Papan, Tekka, Pulai Kinta, Keramat Pulai, Gopeng, Pengkalan, Ampang, Tanjong Malim, Ulu Selim, Ulu Bernam and Kalumpang. In Pahang the presence of sapphires have been recorded by the writer (1974) at Bentong, Karak, Sg. Lembing and in the Sg. Reman area. Fitch (1952) reported blue spinels in the heavy mineral concentrate found in Anak Sungai Reman near Kuantan but the writer in his examination of some heavy mineral concentrates from the area found some minute crystals of sapphires. The writer believes that the blue spinels found by Fitch are probably sapphires. Sapphires have been found in corundum-bearing veins in contact with limestone, and minute grains of sapphires occur in fine-grained veins consisting of muscovite, fluorite, blue tourmaline, schorl and spinel, traversing highly weathered phyllites or schists in contact with granitic rocks at Tekka (Perak). In Sg. Reman (Pahang) the sapphires are believed to have been derived from granitic rocks. Since fine sapphires, rubies and other gemstones are known to have been associated with Tertiary basalts in Thailand, a search for sapphires and other minerals should be initiated in the areas around the Kuantan and Segamat basalts. In the light of the recent discovery at Chenderiang, it is now known that at least some sapphires are associated with pegmatites. It is recommended that pegmatitic areas, in and around Chenderiang, should be investigated in detail to see whether gem quality sapphires occur."