SAVANNA RUBY
Edited by: Mr. Englisher - Gemcal.com

It is Africa, A vast and mysterious continent, where all of us, people of all races, originate. But as history unfolded; it happened that most of Africa remained virgin, unexplored land with many uncovered treasures under its fertile soil. It may be humanities birthplace, but at the same time it’s the last frontier on the planet.

The discovery of diamonds in South Africa at the turn of the 20-century gave a hint of Africa’s enormous potential as an important source for minerals and gemstones. However, there were no systematic explorations for stones other than diamonds. Initiatives where sporadic and results where nil. In 1952, A.G. Cough found large numbers of ruby crystals of excellent color in The Matabuto Mountains in north Tanzania. These crystals were found later down the rivers as water worn pebbles of fine quality. Similar red crystals where found in Gogogogo, Madagascar, near the Linta River. In 1958, there were reports of rubies and sapphires in Malawi, on the southern slopes of The Chimwadzulu Hill. In 1965 there was a serious attempt to mine these stones by British consortium of investors, and later by the government, which took over the mines.

In 1973, two American geologists, John Saul and Eliot Miller, were searching for Chromium bearing rocks in West Tsavo Park. What they found was by far the most important Ruby deposit in Africa. John Saul was a veteran resident of Kenya, but he could not obtain permission to mine the area. Eventually he was given 3 hours to leave the country and pronounce as persona non-grate. In the course of events the Kenyan government compensated John Saul and Eliot Miller, and the mines actually bear his name, as is the specific color of the stone which is named after him “ the Jhonsaul color”.

The mine is located in the Mangari Swamp (Taita District), about 25 km west of the village of Kasigau, in Tsavo West National Park. It takes about 6 hours to travel from the capital, Nairobi and 3 hours from Mombassa. The distance from Nairobi is about 415 km. Access is possible for off-road trucks up to 45 tons and is almost never restricted by adverse weather conditions. It is an important factor in mining, where in other locations, production is usually limited to the dry season.

The location consists of two different Mines: the Penny Lane mine in the eastern part, and the John Saul mine on the western side. Interestingly enough, these two locations are less then 5 km apart, but they are different in their geological pattern and therefore they produce different qualities of rough material. Penny lane basically producing cabochon quality stones heavily included with mica, which make it nearly untreatable material. John Saul produce far betters quality rough, with numbers show that about 1% of the material is a of gem quality with an average size of less then 1 gm per piece. When heat-treated in a professional manner, they will produce incredibly rich deep red colors which make them difficult to distinguish from fine Burmese Rubies.

Today, The John Saul mine is considered to be one of the most modern mining operations in Africa in terms of equipment and working conditions. The mine is fully equipped with housing for 150 workers and managers. It has modern maintenance facilities, and experienced professionals from various countries (Kenya, Israel, Greece and France) who strictly supervise the heavy equipment and vehicles as well as the mining procedures. It has the latest communication facilities plus security officers, geologists, gemologists, technical advisers, sorters and paramedic personnel on the premises.

Creative Gems & Jewelry Co,

One of the largest jewelry manufactures in the world

Is the exclusive buyer of The John Saul mine production. Under its substantial expansion plan Creative Gems have launched an aggressive campaign of John Saul ruby from Africa. Says Manager Phenmakha Sridhunya: “Marketed under the name Savanna Ruby, the stones are of natural fine red color and with no glass filling. We launched the stone in early 2000, and the  trademark of Savanna Ruby has been applied for the stone. Buyers of Savanna Ruby are mainly gemstone dealers and jewelry manufacturers in the United States and  Europe. To attract more buyers, we have developed a collection of jewelry with Savanna stones. Most orders are for jewelry set with calibrated stones in oval and heart shapes, 6mm by 4mm and 4mm or below at US$3 to US$12 a carat at wholesale price.” Amid the strong color trend in the worldwide market, with the launching of Savanna Ruby, Creative Gems has already registered a significant sales growth in the first eight months of the year 2000 compared with the corresponding period of 1999. Ms. Phenmakha said:  “Sales are good also because of our aggressive and active marketing programs. The fact that we contain the whole production chain in-house, from the mine to the final product is an important advantage contributing to our competitive prices.”