Buying specimens in Nepal

Hello,
I am going to Nepal in a week to trek ( not to collect unfortunately) and am wondering if anyone can give me advice on the best way for a novice mineral collector like myself to purchase some minerals, and which ones I should look out for. I will be in Kathmandu and environs.
More specifically, would I be better off going to a store to purchase, or seek out individuals ( I have made conduct with one gentleman from Nepal who has offered his services)
Thank you for any advice you can give me.
John



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/26/2012 08:23PM by John Montgomery.

Hello John Montgomary,
I am AD Shah , You are right , good advice is always well come .If you enter into store Hopefully you can not see much rough minerals , all most all are faceted , that also ...... .
Next ,Nepal is not like Pakistan where you find everywhere minerals . Ii will take you to store too . Lets hunt.!
what do you think.?

For sure AD Shah... we are meeting on march 10th... just trying to get more advice...I am NOT interested in faceted gems....just rough... a few nice specimens...perhaps gem crystals.
I look forward to meeting with you. Many thanks.
John

Edit by Rob Woodside: This post is by Dudley Blauwet of Mountain Minerals

I have been traveling to Nepal every year for right at thirty years, and the supply of good gem crystals is almost nil. The famous tourmaline mine at
Hyakule has been closed from a large landslide since around 1983, and there is only a few of the old tourmaline crystals circulating around, and maybe if you are lucky, a specimen of hambergite. The Chumar and Riyal ruby mines in the Ganesh Himal have been inactive, (except for a few locals poking around) for more than 15 years. There is no work being done at the Tablejung area aqua deposit, which as produced some really fine aquas in the past. The last ones that I purchased were nearly 4-5 years ago. You may find a few dravites in a mica schist from Jajarkot, and some gemmy kyanites from West Nepal, both most are sent to Jaipur in India for cutting. You will see quite a bit of quartz from the Ganesh Himal region, but my local contacts are all complaining about the high prices that the miners ask. During the nearly 10 year Maoist insurgency in the rural areas, very little work was being done, as miners did not have access to explosives, and for other reasons. There is a good potential for mineral production there, but the political system is paralyzed by a coalition government, with lots of parties of the Maoist, Leninist type, and it is still currently not legal to export specimens. There is a small mineral museum in the Department of Geology near Thamel, but a lot of them are ore samples. The geology department is not very helpful and has little interest in mineral specimens. There is another small private mineral museum tucked away on the second floor of a building down a narrow alley in the heart of Thamel as well, but specimens there are not for sale. You may find a few crystals scattered about with vendors selling to tourists at the open plaza near Durbar Square, but nothing nice. There are plenty of gemstones for sale, with the vast majority of them coming from Jaipur in India and are not native to Nepal. Your best bet will be to contact someone within the Nepal Rocks and Mineral Association who will line you up with other dealers within the organization. Lastly if you do find something nice, be prepared for sticker shock, good crystals cannot be purchased cheap. I spent 11 days there in December and did not buy anything. Dudley



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 02/29/2012 02:06AM by Rob Woodside.

Hello Rob,
Thank you very much for taking the time to give such a thorough and well-informed reply to my question.
It is much appreciated.
With kind regards,
John

John,
One place where good specimens were offered is in a store on Tredevi Marg. That's the road between Thamel center and the "former" King's Palace/Garden of Dreams (Google Maps will show you). The dealer is knowledgeable on Nepali minerals (and last time had some nice quartz) but don't expect any great deals: they have been to the Munich show and know what their specimens are worth. That was four years ago, I'm not sure if they are still there. But it's worth checking. Otherwise, as mentioned above, lots of polished stones from India on offer in Kathmandu.

Andy

Thanks Andy, much appreciated.
John

... and thanks to Dudley as well
John

Hello John ,
Rob Woodside is hundred percent correct. Though it will be an excellent time to meet with you and talk about trekking and minerals and collecting your interest of minerals in future.
Regarding the statement given by Andy Stuchi, the name of store is Himalyan Gems . The owner Mr Machhe passed away couple of years ago , and that is runned by his relatives . I will take you there too.

Hello Dudley Blauwet,
Nice to meet you here . You are hundred percent correct . Regarding minerals, in west of Nepal ,
The local people of Kalikot sometimes produce kyanite and some are very beautiful and good faceting grade,
Where as in Jajarkot , Opeque dravites are found common . now a days Green and yellow greenish dravites are sometimes seen in the hands of local people . And Fanta color about 2 cm double terminated dravites ( 80 % transparecy ) can be collected . If you are interested can contact me . As well dravite on matrix can also be collected.
If you take interest to visit the mines you are well come .

Adshah

Hello Adshah,
Yes indeed, I look forward to meeting you in your beautiful country ( my second trip to trek in Nepal) ...looking forward to seeing you on March 10th.
John