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NEW RUBY
MINE DISCOVERY IN MADAGASCAR |
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News
from the front... John sees red ! |
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10am,
accompanied by two guides, John decides to undertake a risky |
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trek
towards the forest. A new ruby mine having supposedly been |
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unearthed. |
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On
the road, near the small village of Behorefo, they encounter malasos |
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(highway
bandits) to which they ask directions for their path. |
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Relieved
from a gold signet ring and of John’s camera, the small team follows
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malasos
who lead them on a winding trail through the hills to Befelatanana. |
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(Fortunately,
John had brought his backup camera, the one with which he took the |
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pictures
you’re seeing.) |
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Bushfires
ravaged the forest. Started by farmers in order to offer new cultures
areas. |
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This
young boy is a malaso son. |
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His
eyes can shoot you at a glance. |
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Arriving
at a clearing, John’s guides are hungry, so, the |
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malasos
hunt a rodent, a Tsandraka. |
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After
a three hour walk, they cross a river infested with crocodiles. The
malasos |
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abandon
them. Several hours into and through the undergrowth will follow next, |
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the
deposit is reached at 5pm. |
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Forty
men are working there, they are Nosymboahangy and |
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they
prohibit photography. |
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In
a makeshift hut, the team spends a very cool night during which one of
the |
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guides
catches a cold and a headache. |
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But
in the morning, surprise! The first rubies are presented. They are
not |
very
big, but their quality is outstanding. Thus it’s in Didy where small
sapphires came out of |
the
forest, sporadically, for over a year. Here, some rubies display a red
colour that makes one |
want
to bite into them ! |
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Often
buried shallow, rubies are extracted using crowbars and shovels from |
alluvial
conglomerates, these having served them as shrouds over millions |
of
years. |
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Artisanal
sieve used to separate gems from alluvial conglomerates. |
The
holes are made by using a nail. |
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Sivany,
sifting gemmiferous gravel in river. |
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In
the morning, the makeshift tents huddled under a sky laden with moisture |
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see
their occupants emerge from their dreams. As fog at treetops, these |
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draming
brackets will remain clinging to the miners’soul until they find what |
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they
were looking for. |
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The
bottom of the air remains fresh at this hour. One try to warm hands, |
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either
in his pockets, or close to a fire. |
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The
sosoa, wet rice usually served at breakfast, has been absorbed
without |
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restraint.
Sated and bulging belly, men are ready to resume their mission. |
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Within
the rainy season, holes |
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quickly
become inexploitable. |
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Mixture
of gravel and pebbles, |
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alluvial
conglomerates attest |
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to
the painstaking work done |
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by
miners. |
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Buckets,
crowbars , shovels, sieves : the basic material of miners. |
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Rubies from
this region have
been
found in
alluvium,
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but probably come from endomorpheous feldspatic
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rocks.
In fact, we frequently found corundums
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showing
flat
faces in
feldspatic rocks in Madagascar. |
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Mixture
of gravel and pebbles, alluvial conglomerates |
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attest
to the painstaking work done by miners. |
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Near
the tents, gemmiferous sand is stored waiting to be screened ... |
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This
sandbox is the real safety deposit box of miners, a safety deposit box |
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that
contains perhaps one or more lottery tickets. |
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In
the morning, this miner left the camp a screen on the back. |
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After
being emptied of their |
gems,
holes are quickly |
abandoned. |
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Watching
a rough ruby with a halogen lamp. |
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