Tensas gazette. [volume] (St. Joseph, La.) 1886-current, 1908-05-01
DIGGING FOR TouRMALINE.
How the Mines Of Burma Are Work
ed-Some Rare Finds.


Tourmaline is a beautiful mineral
known according to it's color by va
riety of names. The red is rubellite,
the pale blue or blush black is indico-
lite, the Berlin blue is called by jew
elers Brazilian emerald, and so on.
"Tourmaline is found in separate
crystals In the interstices OF
hard granite looking rock. AS
consequence men with no means
find. it occasionally profitable when
they have leisure to dig down
eight or ten feet on the of
chance of finding some not very
valuable bits" says c. s. George, dep
uty commissioner, Ruby Mines Dis
trict Burma. This system is called
Kathe talk or Kathe system, after the
idea of the original ruby diggings at
Kathe. The next method is the or
binary Twinlon method of sinking a
vertical shaft about four or FIVE feet
square. BY custom the owner Of the
shaft is entitled to extend his work
ings underground anywhere to a ra-
dius of five fathoms from the GEN.
ter of the shaft.
The vein is formed by vein of
white, hard granite rock, in the in
terstices of which the tourmaline Is
found, at times adhearing loosely to
the rock, at others lying separate in
the loose yellowish earth that is found
with the granite. When a vein is
once found it is followed up as far
as possible, subject to the five fathom
limit alluded to above. What, how
and at the same time keeps the indus
try fluctuating is that the tourmaline
crystals are only found intermittent
ly in the vein.
"One may get several In the length
of one yard, and then they will unac-
countablly cease. Directly one man
strikes a vein yielding crystals every
one who can commences digging
along the line of the vein, but it is
all toss up as to whether. when the
vein is reached, there will be tourma-
line therein. Adjoining Twinlons
give absolutely different results, and
it is calculated that at least two-thirds
of the shafts sunk yield nothing at all,
while only an occasional one is at all
rich"
OF the sixty-two Twinlons at the
time of Mr.. Georges visit only three
were yielding, and of these only one
had traces of the best quality stone.
The veins are fairly deep down, none
having ever been reached at lesser
depth than nine fathoms, while an or
binary depth is forty or fifty cubits;
when the "veln" takes a downward
direction it is followed as far as pos.
sible, but that is rarely over about
sixty cubits, for at that depth the
foulness of the air puts the lamps out.
1.-The vein Is said rarely, If ever to
show an outcrop, and it is matter Of
pure speculation where to dig" said
Mr.. George. AS the whole place is
covered with jungle, prospecting any
way would be laborious. There have
been three finds, each causing a rush.
The first was seven years ago at the
Hpai Bang (Milaunggon). about a
mile to the south of the present place
and near where the Chinese had
worked formerly. The next was a
year or two later at Htaukat between
,Milaunggon and Sanka.
Then there were three or four lean
years, and then, early in 1905, one
Konhkan struck a vein near Sanka
village which has attracted the pres
ent growth of population to Maingnin,
but, as explained above, though the
area within 100 yards of Konhkan's
original shaft is honeycombed with
pits, only three are yielding, and
Konhkan's twin has ceased to yield.
All the material dug out from the in
side Twinlon is pulled up to the sur
face in small buckets, all worked by
enormously long pivoted bamboos
worked with counterpoise. and the
tourmaline Is sorted out of hand, the
granitic fragments being piled in a
wall around the mouth of the shaft