Gemstones of eastern Kazakhstan
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Date
2020-08
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Instytut Geologii UAM
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Abstract
An overview is presented of gemstones from eastern Kazakhstan in terms of their geographical distribution, geological
provenance and genesis, gemmological characteristics, historical use and current applications. Locally occurring
precious, semi-precious and decorative stones were extracted and traded along the northern part of the Silk Road
that traversed the area in earlier historical times. Currently, non-metallic minerals, which largely originate from mafic
igneous and metamorphic bodies of the Altay and Kalba Mountains of Kazakhstan, still are insufficiently known and
exploited industrially only marginally. For the present study, selected depositories of coloured stones at the Mineralogy
Museum of the East Kazakhstan State Technical University were used, supplemented by the newly collected material
during personal fieldwork in the southern Altay between 2005 and 2015. Standard documentation of the gemstones
selected is provided, alongside with their known occurrence sites and an evaluation of the perspective gemstone-bearing
deposits with respect to regional morphostructural bedrock characteristics. The most precious gemstones include
topaz, corundum (sapphire and ruby), beryl (emerald and aquamarine), coloured tourmalines, agates as well as diamonds.
Despite the great variety, the majority of these traditionally most valued stones are currently commercially not
viable, unlike high-quality decorative stones.
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Keywords
Altay, non-metallic mineral deposits, gemstones, decorative stones, prehistory, field exploration, jewellery
Citation
Geologos 26, 2 (2020): 139–162