Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1912-08-01
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Finding Oriental Rubies.

f1nQinS Orlentdi KuDieS.
"Most people are of the impression
that the diamond is more valuable than
any other jewel stone, but, weight for
weight, the Oriental ruby costs many
times what the finest diamond of the
Kimberley field will bring" said Henri
La Vallee, Chicago, who has lately re-
turned from trip to the East Indies, to
Daily News reporter.
"For instance, an eleven-carat ruby
sold in London a few years ago for $685.
600. An eleven-carat diamond in the
market would not bring anything like
this sum. The smaller size diamonds
and pigeon blood, rubieS are not so wide
apart in price, but real rubies are steadily
in the lead in all gem markets.
"Last fall passed through that small
district in upper Burma around Mogok,
70 miles north of Mandalay, from which
nearly all the rubies of the world come.
The pure ruby is corundum chemically
oxide of aluminium. The aluminium Sill
cate is the basis of all clays and the sui
phate is familiar as alum. The Mogok
district was for three centuries owned by
the Burmese kings, and in those days, !
learned, the possession of a ruby by a
private individual, if il was worth more
than $3.50, was regarded as crime.
"Those of larger value were made
part of the crowns property, except in
those cases where the individual had suf-
ficient cupidity to break them up and sell
them as several separate jewels.
"Some years ago British syndicate got
a lease on the Mogok property for a
period extending to 1892 and began to
bring out rubies over cart road 60 miles
to the Irawaddy River. The process OF
taking out the brilliant red stones is un-
ique. A pit is sunk 10 feet square and
Is feet deep, and a centrifugal pump is
placed in it. The ground all around is
then gradually loaded into trucks and
hauled away to a washer, and water en-
countered being left into the pit, from
which the pump removes it.
"This process continues until the level
of the mine reaches the bottom OF the
pumping pit or the quantity of water ex-
ceeds the capacity of the pump, in which
case it becomes necessary to sink the pit
further and increase the pumping power.
Chinese in blue jackets and trousers, who
eat rice, dried fish, and salt pork, load
the ruby ground into trucks, which are
hitched to an endless rope, drawn up
slope and tipped into screens, through
which, after being well shaken and dis
integrated, it passes into washing pans
ID feet in diameter.
Grows of steel teeth set in revolving
rims churn up the clayey mass, the clay
and lighter gravel run off into safety
pan, and the heavier gravel, containing
the precious stones, is left behind, about
per cent of the original contents of the
washer.
"At the end OF each shaft door in the
pan bottom is opened and the deposit
falls into trucks with covers which are
locked until the Sorters tip the deposit
into large bin, also locked, from which
it slowly dribbles into revolving screen
covered with various sizes of meshing.
The sand is eliminated at once and the
clean deposit falls through in five sizes,
the largest directly to a sorting table, the
four others to pulsator, which further
separates the heavier from the lighter
stuff.
Because of the strong temptation to
theft no natives are allowed to handle the
larger sizes, and the English Sorters con-
duct the next operation of working the
stuff round and round in sieve immersed
in tub of water till the rubieS have grav-
itated to the bottom. The sieve is then
smartly turned upside down on a table
so that the rubes are at the top and can
be picked out by hand.
1.-The rainfall in the Mogok region is
terrific. Twenty-Five inches have been
registered in four days there. With great
open pits to be kept free from the results
of such deluges the engineers often find
themselves in great difficulties, so they
have decided to drive a drainage tunnel
through the hill on one side of the valley,
which will not only curb the river flow
ing through, but also empty the water
from the mines by gravity. The tunnel
will be more than mile long.
"When the rich deposits have been
taken from the valleys, it is planned to
equip the hillsides with hydraulic appa-
ratus, as do the gold miners OF California
and Alaska"