Beryl with Albite

specimen number:
2292228

location:
Muchawar Nala, Hunza, Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan

description:
An attractive gemmy blue crystal grouping of beryl, this is the variety known as aquamarine, partially coated with blocky crystals of sparkling white albite. In good condition all around.

The Muchawar Nala locality, situated within the Hunza Valley of the Gilgit-Baltistan region in northern Pakistan, is a rugged alpine mining area renowned for producing exceptional collector specimens of gem-quality aquamarine beryl. Geologically, the deposit is hosted within granitic pegmatite fields that intruded the local metamorphic basement rocks during the tectonic collision of the Indian and Eurasian plates. Late-stage, silica-rich hydrothermal fluids cooling within these pegmatites carved out miarolitic cavities and pockets, allowing well-terminated, hexagonal aquamarine prisms to crystallize slowly alongside minerals like albite, muscovite mica, and schorl tourmaline. Artisanal surface quarrying and hazardous underground tunnel mining by independent local prospectors began expanding following the construction of the Karakoram Highway in the late twentieth century, which opened access to global markets. These decentralized, small-scale mining efforts remain highly active based on seasonal weather conditions, continuing to supply vibrant, highly transparent blue aquamarine specimens to the international collector market into the 2020s.

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