GEMS MINED IN THE UNITED STATES, MEXICO, SOUTH AMERICA, CANADA 

When you think of geographical areas that produce gemstones, you probably think of South Africa, Thailand, China, or Russia. The U.S. and other areas in the Western Hemisphere produce gemstones as well. This is a summary of producing mines primarily in the U.S.

Many thanks to Dave Federman from whose original article, “Born in the USA”, this summary was developed.

TOURMALINE
Gem quality pink tourmaline was mined in large quantities around San Diego early in the 20th century. China sent buyers to San Diego to buy as much of the prized pink tourmaline that the city’s economy prospered. Maine produces first quality green tourmaline.

PERIDOT
A large peridot mine near the Grand Canyon, on an Apache reservation, produces one of the world’s largest supplies of high quality peridot. Arizona peridot is much in demand.

GARNET
Garnet mines are scattered over the U.S. Colorado produces a good share of jewelry-quality garnets.

SAPPHIRE
Montana sapphire is a lovely and very rare stone, deep blue, mined in very small carat sizes. From 1901 to 1929 the New Mine Sapphire Company, a British organization, mined sapphire at Utica, Montana. Fancy color sapphires have also been mined in Montana near Rock Creek.

PEARLS
When the New World was in its early settlement years, rare pearls could be purchased from Natives. America was for millenia one of the world’s greatest pearl-hunting paradises. When Spanish explorers raided the tombs of Native Americans in the 16th century they found bushels of freshwater pearls that had been buried with the dead. Some of the pearls exceeded 3/4 inch in diameter. Pearls discovered in New Jersey sparked a pearl rush in 11 other states that produced significant pearl finds in the 50 years between 1857 and 1907.

DIAMOND
The largest diamond found in the U.S. was 40 carats, discovered in Murfreesboro, Arkansas. Other states that have produced diamonds include Colorado, Kentucky, and Michigan, but never in quantities great enough to justify establishing full scale mining operations. Huge diamond finds in Canada promoted hopes for a U.S. diamond rush, but it won’t happen. At present, there are no commercial diamond mines operating in the United States. The Kelsey Lake Mine near the Colorado-Wyoming border was closed in April 2002. About 50-65% of the diamonds produced at Kelsey Lake Mine were gem quality and almost one third of the gems produced were over one carat in size. The two most valuable stones reported from the Kelsey Lake Mine were valued at $89,000 and $300,000.

There is good potential for commercial diamond production in the United States. Multiple diamond discoveries in Canada have prospectors looking at comparable areas in Alaska and Minnesota. The Wyoming Geological Survey believes that a $1 billion diamond industry could develop in that state. Wyoming has comparable conditions to the Canadian deposits and hundreds of kimberlite pipes are believed to exist. Twenty diamondiferous pipes have been discovered so far but assessment results have not been released to the public.

AQUAMARINE

Beautiful aquamarine in large sizes, perfectly clear jeweler quality, is mined in Brazil.

TURQUOISE
The most famous and productive turquoise mine, the King Mine, is in Colorado. Most of the turquoise mined today comes from rediscoveries of old workings. Other famous mines include Mexico’s Azure mine, renowned for the sky blue color of its turquoise, and Nevada’s Royal blue and Cortez mines. The Sleeping Beauty Mine in Arizona produces beautiful blue stones prized among collectors.

To see jewelry and beads in these colors, http://beadsbymail.com