No.3 August 2004
  
 
  What 's inside?

- Cover Page
- Forward
- Editor and Editional Review Board		    
           
  Expedition to the Ruby and Spinel Mines of Namya (Northern Burma/Myanmar)  
  Expedition to the Namya Mines in Northern Burma  
 

Adolf Peretti(*) and Anong Kanpraphai (**)

* GRS Gemresearch Swisslab LTD, Lucerne, Switzerland
** GRS (Thailand) Co., LTD, Bangkok, Thailand

  
 
   
Shwedagon Pagoda, Yangoon (Myanmar)    
 
Preparation for expedition to the the ruby mines in Northern Burma: From Myitkyina to Namya
A 4 wheel drive pick-up with high-wheels is an absolute necessity for the drive from Myitkyina to the Namya mining area. The expedition material list was extensive andincluded a digital camera film (for backup) and video, a portable laboratory (including a microscope), GPS for satellite orientation, various Burmese language dictionaries, packing material for collection of reference samples (and labeling ruby samples ), a portable kitchen with gasoline stove, a first aid kit, extensive preventive medicine (including anti Malarial, antibiotic and anti diarrhea drugs) and water cleaning chemicals.
The well-known Shwedagon Pagoda, Yangoon (Myanmar).    
Map of the Central and Northern Part of Burma (Myanmar) showing 3 major mining areas of commercial importance: Mong Hsu, Mogok and Namya. The mines are found in a distance of several hundred kilometers (see inserted "Ruby mine triangle"), and the 3 typical rough stones from these mines are shown: A rough ruby with bluish core (as formed in the marble-mother rock) from Mong Hsu; an over 50 ct rough ruby with well-established crystal growth faces from the Dattaw mine in Mogok; and a 2ct rough ruby with its own characteristic growth features from Namya. Both Mogok and Mong Hsu mines are found in the Shan States of Eastern Burma, which border Thailand, Laos and China (the so-called "Golden Triangle" region)
  
The Namya mines are situated in the Kachin State in the Northern part of Burma, which borders China in the East, and India in the West. The expedition to the mines was separated into 5 different steps:

1.) a flight from Bangkok to Yangoon (Capital of Burma, Myanmar);
2.) a flight from Yangoon to Mandalay;
3.) a flight from Mandalay to Myitkyina;
4.) a cross-country car ride from Myitkyina to Namya, and
5.) a messy elephant ride (during the rainy season) to the mining area. ...
The book and DVD are priced at US$ 100.
A special promotion for GRS customers, the book and DVD at US$ 50.