corundum, Tanzania.12, gems

In November 2007, news started to spread in the Tanzanian gem-mining community that a promising new ruby deposit had been found near the village of Winza, in the Mpwapwa district of the Dodoma region. The rumor triggered a ruby rush and, within a few days, miners from all over Tanzania were on the road to the new deposit. In January 2008, the Gübelin Gem Lab received a report from Abdul Msellem, a Tanzanian gem broker who had just returned from a one-month mining expedition to Winza. He reported that approximately 600 miners were already working the new deposit, which was producing not only pink to red rubies but also blue and purple sapphires. According to Msellem, the site of the find, a former cornfield, was yielding small stones of facetable quality from 0.5 to 3 grams and well-formed crystals up to 10 grams.