Artisanal mining of gemstones in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka is an important producer of gemstones. The country is a major source of fine sapphire, ruby, garnets, moonstone, cat's eye, alexandrite, tourmaline and many more. The interesting thing is that nearly all mining activity in Sri Lanka is artisanal, meaning that it is carried out from small, local, "mom and pop" operations that show up in the countryside as little shacks - as in this photograph taken near Ratnapura in the southwest - generally in the middle of wide valleys between steep hills.
Artisanal mining of gemstones in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka is an important producer of gemstones. The country is a major source of fine sapphire, ruby, garnets, moonstone, cat's eye, alexandrite, tourmaline and many more. The interesting thing is that nearly all mining activity in Sri Lanka is artisanal, meaning that it is carried out from small, local, "mom and pop" operations that show up in the countryside as little shacks - as in this photograph taken near Ratnapura in the southwest - generally in the middle of wide valleys between steep hills.