corundum, Madagascar.12, gems

A sapphire rush escalating to approximately 50,000 unlicensed small-scale miners started in October 2016 about 35 km east of Ambatondrazaka, Madagascar. It is taking place in the Corridor Ankeniheny-Zahamena (CAZ), which is a new protected area legally designated in 2015 and managed by “Conservation International,” one of the world’s largest conservation groups, on behalf of the Malagasy Government. The discovery of many fine quality sapphires in this area is opening a new chapter in the conflict between conservation and gem mining in northeastern Madagascar. The present report will introduce the new discovery, which was visited by author Rosey Perkins in October 2016, and provides a complete gemological description of these sapphires done at the GIA Laboratory based on samples acquired by author Vincent Pardieu. This preliminary study might enable GIA (and other gemological laboratories) to better identify stones produced from this new deposit.