Beryl

specimen number:
2282043

location:
Mingora Mine, Swat Valley, Khyber Pakhutunkhwa, Pakistan

description:
A loose mostly gemmy green terminated crystal of beryl, this is the variety known as emerald. In great condition.

The Mingora mine, situated in the Swat Valley of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, is a notable source of high-quality emeralds. Geologically, the deposit is hosted within the suture zone where the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates collided, resulting in the intense deformation and metamorphism of local rocks. The emeralds occur within talc-carbonate schists, where hydrothermal fluids rich in beryllium interacted with chromium-bearing ultramafic rocks to produce the distinct green beryl crystals. Discovered in 1958 by local residents, the mine was initially controlled by the Wali of Swat before being taken over by the Pakistani government in the late 1960s. Commercial extraction peaked under the Gemstone Corporation of Pakistan during the 1970s and 1980s, and despite periods of closure due to regional political instability in the 2000s, mining activities have continued intermittently under government leases and cooperative agreements through to recent years.

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