Gemscapes Blog

Wow! It’s the first in a series of blogs to discuss the trip to Tanzania that Sherris and Amy took in January of 2009! (I’ll bet you thought we’d never get around to posting about our trip!) A little background information about the trip is in order before we delve into the details the trip itself. Neither of us had traveled outside of N. America before (though I’d lived in Hawaii for a time and had been to Alaska) We were embarking upon a “Gem Safari” and would be gone for 21 days total. The “Gem Safari” that we were traveling to participate in was the brain child of Hubert Helder, a lapidary artist/jeweler/visionary from Switzerland. Hubert had been working with SEAMIC – The Southern and Eastern African Mineral Centre (SEAMIC) in Tanzania – and with them had created a wonderful program open to anyone.

SEAMIC is a collective of 8 countries: Ethiopia, Mozambique, Tanzania, Angola, Comoros, Uganda, and Kenya. Rwanda, Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe are preparing to join. They offer: (for a full list of services see the services page on the SEAMIC website) Laboratory services * Mineralogy * Petrology * Gemology * Chemistry * Mineral processing * Experimental ore extraction * Industrial minerals application * Environmental impact analysis Geological information * Geo data management & processing * Geo data library * Lapidary workshop * Faceting workshop * Free-Form cutting workshop Education * Mineral laboratory management * Environmental analysis and impact assessment studies * Mineral testing methods * Gemology * Gem cutting * Pottery and ceramic technology * Geophysics, geochemistry, geology and geo-science data handling SEAMIC’s goal is to promote socio-economic and environmentally responsible mineral development in Africa. This translates into working to utilize the vast geological resources of the continent in ways that actually benefit African people. Currently other countries are benefiting more from African resources than are Africans themselves. SEAMIC is offering people within it’s member countries the chance to learn about their land (does it contain any valuable resources like gemstones, minerals, or even oil?); learn how to best extract resources from the land (safely and efficiently); and to learn a trade that relates to the resources found (lapidary and gemologist programs). Because Gemscapes is about carved gems, the part of SEAMIC that spoke to us the most was that SEAMIC offers lapidary and gemology classes in addition to its mineral and gem identification services.  The thought behind the gemology classes was to perhaps encourage those who find gemstones on their land to learn more about them and to know the value of what they find. (there are way too many instances of incredibly precious and rare gemstones being found but the natives who found them had NO idea they were valuable and the material was sold for ridiculously low prices to overseas buyers. Gems like alexandrite (color changing chrysoberyl) and color changing garnet or sapphire have been sold by the kilo for pennies on the dollar because the miners didn’t know what they had, though the buyers knew and took advantage of them. If a miner is informed about the gems he’s likely to find, he is better prepared to sell them for what they are worth, rather than being cheated by the buyers. Sherris and I are fully behind SEAMIC on this project and believe strongly that the miners should be paid fair dollar for what they find. If this can happen, it would benefit the countries because it would be more money staying in Africa. The lapidary classes are offered with the hope that these classes will create a group of African lapidary artists and faceters who can then be utilized to facet the stones found in each country, within that country, rather then being sold as rough to overseas dealers. The idea is to have the people who actually mine for the gemstones make a better profit by keeping the process to get the gems to the public “in house” so to speak. For instance: a Tanzanian finds a gem in its rough form. Instead of selling it super cheaply to, for instance, the Thai or Indian buyers who frequent the country, he could sell it to another Tanzanian who would then actually facet the stone. By keeping this process in the country, it not only benefits the gem-finder, it benefits the country because now the wholesaler or even the jeweler can buy direct from the country of origin without any middle men. It helps create jobs in areas that are sometimes very impoverished. As with the gemology classes, we find this to be a very exciting idea for these “3^rd world” countries and support it whole-heartedly. Why shouldn’t the jewelry industry be getting their finished gems directly from the countries where they are found instead of always having to go to the markets in Thailand or India to buy the inexpensive faceted gems? Anyway – now that it’s clear what SEAMIC does, it’s time to discuss the Gem Safari that they offer. Anyone can visit SEAMIC and join one of the field trips to the gemstone mines in Tanzania. They are geared so that anyone of any level of interest in gems can attend. You could be simply curious about gemstones, a hobby faceter, a jeweler, or a professional gem cutter – it’s a trip that fits everyone. The beginning of the Gemstone Safari consists of: 1 day visit of SEAMIC headquarters and relax at the beach 2 days introduction to gemology, mineralogy and geology 1 day of traveling and visit of the Amboni Caves in Tanga 5 days of working in the Umba Valley mine They both start out in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania, with 2 days of gemology classes taught by Mr. Nakara Matemu, who is the former Minister of Minerals for Tanzania. He now works with SEAMIC full time. The discussion is all about the gemstones of Tanzania – where they are found, how they are mined, and the specific properties of each gemstone found in Tanzania. After the 2 days in the classroom at the SEAMIC campus, everyone boards a bus and heads towards Tanga. Tanga is a town that is mid-way to the Umba valley mine, and you stay there for the night, having dinner at a restaurant right on the ocean. The next day there’s a stop at the Amboni Caves, which are the most extensive limestone caves in East Africa. There are 10 caves in total but only one is used to give guided tours.  From the caves, you continue onto the sapphire mine in the Umba valley owned by Dr. Najim Msenga. At the mine, you dig with local miners in an alluvial deposit where you will find sapphires and garnets, and possibly also find spinel or tourmaline. The mining starts the afternoon you arrive, continues for several days, and ends with a “mineral show” on the mine site where local miners can bring in their finds for your purchasing consideration. The last evening is spent having a BBQ with the miners and allows everyone to socialize outside of a “work” environment. Upon leaving the mine there are divergent options. One can choose to return to SEAMIC and participate in lapidary classes, where you’ll learn to facet or cabochon the gems you found in the Umba valley, as well as other gems you can buy from SEAMIC. The other option (which is what we took) is to head to Arusha to meet with gem dealers and then have 2 days of safari – one day in Tarangire National Park, another in Ngorongoro Crater Conservation Area. You can choose to return to Dar Es Salaam afterwards and leave from there, which is also what we did. I realize this is a lot of information that doesn’t seem to directly correlate to our trip, but after learning what SEAMIC does, Sherris and I felt that they deserve our full support. Explaining what they are, what they do, seems to be a “no brainer” when it comes to sharing our Tanzanian experience and helps to inform people outside of Africa of the great work they are doing. Next time: actual arrival in Dar Es Salaam and our days at SEAMIC.