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GeneralOther Minerals from India

8th Oct 2014 07:03 UTCAnonymous User

We are all familiar with the zeolites from India. My question is, with such a large country, a portion of which is in the Himalaya Mountains, in addition to a cheap labor force that would allow collecting of specimens from small mines, why are there not minerals from other locales in India at mineral shows?

8th Oct 2014 13:14 UTCChris DeGrave Expert

I've been curious about that too. As a Pb collector I'd love a sample from there. Does the Deccan plateau cover that much of the country?

8th Oct 2014 13:34 UTCAlfredo Petrov Manager

There are LOTS of other things from India.... Corundum. Big variety of manganese minerals. Quartz crystals. Diamonds.... etc, etc....

8th Oct 2014 14:38 UTCBob Harman

India mines a lot of colored gemstones and diamonds and there is a long standing formal and direct pathway from the mining consortiums to the gem trade/jewelry industry. Hence not a lot of uncut mineral specimens of these types at the mineral shows.

On the other hand, neighboring Pakistan has much less developed mining consortiums and a much less formal pathway of the mined stones into the gem trade. There are many more individual gem stone field collectors out in their mountains. They can sell their found uncut stones as mineral specimens. Perhaps the large tracts of Pakistani lands are less privatized by the mining consortiums??? CHEERS……BOB

8th Oct 2014 17:10 UTCVitya

India is also known for many other minerals besides Zeolites. However collectors usually associate India with either Zeolites or Diamonds/Corundum var Ruby. However you bring up a good question as to why other mineral species/types are not available at shows. Perhaps the problem is also the rural and more remote nature of some of these specimens and localities.

There is a whole list of minerals available at Indian localities here:

http://www.mindat.org/loc-16773.html

11th Oct 2014 05:42 UTCRock Currier Expert

There are many areas of India that produce minerals. But because the production of zeolite and related species from the Deccan Traps is so enormous that they tend to obscure everything else and in effect to hide it. Also many of the minerals are more suited to the production of gemstones and lapidary items that feed the considerable lapidary factories in Jaipur and Cambay. The pegmatites of south India have produced 20 pound aqua marines if astounding quality, but they are mostly cut and never seen. Most of the tourmalines and aquas form Napal have suffered the same fate. The quantities of ruby specimens from the Mysore region of India number in the tons. Good chrysoberyls are also found, but most of the crystals have fallen under the cutters wheel. Amethyst crystals? Yes plenty, but they also have been burred and hidden by the megatons (yes in fact) of amethyst specimens from Rio Grande do Sul.

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