Forsterite

specimen number:
2262336

location:
Sapat Gali, Mansehra, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan

description:
Fine miniature with a large semi lustrous translucent crystal of forsterite, this is the variety known as peridot, on matrix. In good condition.

The Sapat Gali mining district, situated at an elevation exceeding 4000 meters within the Kohistan region of the Mansehra District in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, is globally recognized for its prolific modern production of the vibrant green gem variety of forsterite known as peridot. Geologically, these spectacular deposits are hosted within an ultra-mafic complex belonging to the Indus Suture Zone, where the ancient Neotethyan oceanic lithosphere was obducted onto the Indian continental plate during the Himalayan orogeny. The peridot crystals crystallized within high-temperature hydrothermal veins and open pockets that cut through heavily serpentinized dunite bedrock, where early magmatic segregation and subsequent structural fracturing concentrated magnesium, iron, and silica into large, transparent euhedral crystals of iron-bearing forsterite. Historically, while nomadic herders had long known of the green stones, systematic artisanal surface quarrying and open-cut pitting officially commenced around 1992 following a formal discovery that triggered an immediate regional mineral rush. Due to the extreme high-altitude terrain and harsh alpine weather, operations have remained highly seasonal, with thousands of local independent miners establishing networks of shallow open pits and crude hand-dug tunnels that are worked exclusively during the snow-free summer months from June to September. Organized corporate evaluation and regulated mineral trading frameworks were introduced by provincial authorities in the late 1990s and early 2000s to streamline international exports, and while large-scale corporate mechanization remains limited by the extreme geography, localized artisanal extraction and open-pit mining continue to actively produce high-quality peridot from the Sapat Gali ridges through 2026.

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