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The Geology and Genesis of Gem Corundum Deposits

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 GIULIANI ET AL. –– GEM CORUNDUM

CHAPTER 2: THE GEOLOGY AND GENESIS OF GEM CORUNDUM DEPOSITS

Gaston Giuliani1, 2, Daniel Ohnenstetter2, Anthony E. Fallick3, Lee Groat4, Andrew J. Fagan5,4
1
Université Paul Sabatier, GET,
UMR 5563 CNRS-IRD-CNES-UPS,
14 avenue Edouard Belin,
31400- Toulouse, France; e-mail: giuliani@crpg.cnrs-nancy.fr
2
Université de Lorraine, CRPG,
UMR 7358 CNRS-UL, BP 20,
54501- Vandœœuvre-lès-Nancy cedex, France
3
Scottish Universities Environmental Research Centre,
Rankine Avenue, East Kilbride,
Glasgow G75 0QF, Scotland, UK
4
Department of Earth and Ocean Sciences,
University of British Columbia,
Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z4, Canada
5
True North Gems Inc.,
Vancouver, BC, Canada

INTRODUCTION
The aim of this review is to present the state of
the art on the geology and genesis of gem corundum
deposits, including the main characteristics and
classifications, to an audience of non-specialists,
academic students, professional geologists and
gemologists. The careful detailed descriptions and
studies on the geology, mineralogy and structures of
the deposits carried out over the last century
provides a foundation to unravel their genesis
through new field and laboratory research including
petrography, mineralogy, gemology, fluid
inclusions, and stable and radiogenic isotopes.
Descriptive geology coupled with recent advances
in geology of gems permits decoding of how some
of these historical and fabulous deposits formed as
well as to estimate exploration potential in the
future. New oxygen isotope data are presented here
for the first time.
HISTORY, GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION,
AND ECONOMIC SIGNIFICANCE
The term corundum likely originates from the
Sanskrit "kurunvinda" meaning "hard stone", that
became kurund in Dravidian popular language
(corundum is kurund in German). This term might
also have originated from the Tamil word kurmidam
(Anthony et al. 1997). The term "ruby" is derived
from the Latin word ruber. In Sanskrit, it was called
ratnaraj, queen of precious stones and symbol of
permanent internal fire. In Greco-Roman times, the
reference to fire was common; in 400 CE
Theophraste (Eichholz 1965) related ruby to anthrax
(coal). Two thousand years ago Pliny (Littré 1850)
called all the red stones carbunculus (diminutive of
carbo) which became escarboucle in old French. In
the 11th century, Marbode (Hernault 1890) separated
"three times" three types of carbuncles that
correspond to the three hues known for ruby
(Myanmar, Thailand, and Sri Lanka), red spinel
(balas, ruby––spinel, and pleonaste), and red garnet
(pyrope, almandine, and spessartine). The exact
origin of the term sapphire is unknown; it probably
comes from the Sanskrit sauriratna, became
sappheiros to the Greeks, then sapphirus to the
Romans. Up to the 13th century this term referred to
all blue gemstones, especially lapis lazuli. Marbode
used the term hyacinthe to refer to all colored
sapphire. In the 18th century the contribution of the
French scientists to the characterization of the
corundum as a mineral species was major. In 1784,
Romé de l'Isle showed that ruby and sapphire were
similar minerals. In 1787, Brisson published the
specific gravities, and in 1805 René-Just Haüy
(Brard 1805) establishes the chemical formulae of
both gemstones and formally united all varieties
under corundum (Haüy 1817). In the 19th century,

Mineralogical Association of Canada Short Course 44, Tucson AZ, February 2014, p. 29-112

29
 GIULIANI ET AL. –– GEM CORUNDUM

Chenevix in 1802 first established the chemical
composition of ruby and sapphire. The work of
Rose allowed the characterization of corundum as
practically pure alumina (Rose 1843). Between
1894 and 1921, the field studies in Madagascar of
Lacroix and his team allowed the mineralogical
inventory of the island. In 1922, Lacroix published
his three-volume book on the Mineralogy of
Madagascar, a fascinating treatise on Malagasian
mineralogy and especially on corundum, its
occurrence, typology, and mineralogy. It was the
first book to present a geological overview of
worldwide corundum deposits. Today, blue gem
(translucent or transparent) corundum is called
sapphire, and all other colors including yellow,
orange, violet, green, purple, peach-apricot, and
brown commonly called fancy sapphires are referred
to by color (e.g., yellow sapphire, orange sapphire,
etc.). The valuable other colored sapphire is the
orange-pink or pinky orange variety called
padparadscha after the lotus blossom.
Since 1990, gem corundum has been the subject
of several reference books on the gemology,
mineralogy, and geology of this fascinating
gemstone. The following were written by Hughes:
Corundum in 1990 gives an invaluable comprehen-
sive gemological and geological overview of gem
corundum; Ruby and Sapphire in 1997 updated the
first edition and completed the story and lore of
ruby and sapphires, and Ruby & Sapphire: A
Collector's Guide by Hughes & Manorotkul in
2014. Ward (1992) gave a general overview of gem
corundum in his book Rubies and Sapphires while
Themelis (1992) documented all the secrets of heat
treatment applied to ruby and sapphire. Bowersox &
Chamberlain (1995) provided a wonderful and very
informative review of the corundum and spinel
deposits from Afghanistan in their Gemstones of
Afghanistan. The English edition of the book
Geology of Gems written by Kievlenko (2003)
offered an interesting overview on the geology of
gem corundum worldwide. The geology and genesis
of gem corundum deposits was reviewed by
Giuliani et al. (2007a) in the first edition of the
Mineralogical Association of Canada, Short Course
37; on the Geology of Gem Deposits (Groat 2007).
Themelis (2008) wrote the first state of the art on
the Gems and Mines of Mogok, the ruby-sapphire-
spinel Mogok Stone Tract famous for centuries.
Finally, the special issue edited by Ore Geology
Reviews (Graham et al. 2008a) on the Genesis of
Gem Deposits offered six papers on the topic of
corundum deposits in contrasted geological
environments (Garnier et al. 2008; Graham et al.
2008b; Rakotondrazafy et al. 2008; Simonet et al.
2008; Sutherland et al. 2008; Yui et al. 2008). In the
European literature, in 1998 Weise published in
Extra-Lapis Ruby, Sapphire, Corundum in German,
and Cesbron et al. (2002) detailed the mineralogy
and crystallography in Corundum and Spinel from
the French special issue of the Journal Minéraux &
Fossiles. More recently, the French Journal le Règne
Minéral published a review on the geology and
classification of corundum deposits (Garnier et al.
2004a), a review on marble deposits from central
and southeast Asia (Garnier et al. 2006a), a
synthesis on the French corundum occurrences in
the Saphirs et rubis de France (Giuliani et al. 2010),
and finally the state of the art on corundum deposits
in the Neoproterozoic metamorphic Mozambique
belt (Giuliani 2013).

Plate 1
A. Typical mineral association of purplish sapphire from the Zazafotsy deposit (Ihosy region), Madagascar. The sapphire (1.6
x 1.4 cm) is associated with garnet (orange) and potash feldspar (white) in a biotitized feldspathic gneiss (black). Collection
MNHN of Paris (N°108-1747). Photograph courtesy of L.-D. Bayle © le Règne Minéral. B. The ruby-bearing anyolite from
Longido, Tanzania, is used for carving. The hexagonal prism of ruby (5 cm across) is contained in a gangue of green zoisite
and black amphibole (tschermakite). Photograph courtesy of G. Giuliani. C. Polished slab of a colored zoned sapphire crystal
from Garba Tula, Kenya. The blue and yellow sapphire (2.3 x 1.5 cm, 19.6 grams) was hosted by a monzonite dyke. The
colors and chemistry are similar to those found for the green and yellow sapphires found in placers formed in basaltic
environments. Collection J. Saul. Photograph courtesy of L.-D. Bayle © le Règne Minéral. D. Ruby crystal from Ampanihy,
Madagascar. The ruby (6 x 4.8 x 1cm) was hosted by an amphibolite. Collection J. Béhier. Photograph courtesy of L.-D.
Bayle © le Règne Minéral. E. Ruby in marble from the mine of Baw Padan, Mogok, Myanmar. The crystal is hosted in a
gangue of calcite. Collection F. Barlocher. Photograph courtesy of L.-D. Bayle © le Règne Minéral. F. Transparent yellowish
sapphire (2.3 x 0.7 x 0.5 cm) presenting blue zoning. Placer of Balangoda, southern Sri Lanka. Collection F. Lietard.
Photograph courtesy of L.-D. Bayle © le Règne Minéral. G. Sapphires related to the Mont Coupet basaltic field in the French
Massif Central, Saint-Eble, Haute-Loire. The highest crystal on the left: 12 x 8 x 8 mm. The cut stones: 5 x 4 mm. Collection
and photograph courtesy of L.-D. Bayle © le Règne Minéral.

30
GIULIANI ET AL. –– GEM CORUNDUM

31
GIULIANI ET AL. –– GEM CORUNDUM

32
 GIULIANI ET AL. –– GEM CORUNDUM

Corundum is an industrial raw material, prized
for its optical, mechanical and chemical qualities,
and in jewelry for its gem varieties, ruby and
sapphire (Plates 1 and 2). Natural corundum was
mined in antiquity as emery, a mechanical mixture
of corundum and magnetite, used as a grinding and
polishing compound. The ancient Greeks called
emery smyrnis after the harbor city of Smyrna,
which served as the main exportation for Naxos
emery in the Cyclades Islands (King 1865). The
Romans called emery naxium and Pliny in his
Natural History (Littré 1850) reported the use of
emery as an abrasive for lapidaries and gem
engravers. Corundum was mined in North Carolina
(USA) during two periods (Yurkovich 1985): the
main mining period, between 1871 and 1900, took
place in the Clay and Macon counties accounting
for all of world production until 1893. An estimated
3,720 to 7,000 tons of ore was produced and the
main site of extraction was the Corundum Hill
Mine. The second mining period, 1914––1919,
reactivated the mining operations at Corundum Hill.
South Africa was also a main producing country in
the early twentieth century (Kupferburger 1935).
The corundum was obtained from desilicated
pegmatite in Northeast Transvaal (Robb & Robb
1986). Production fell from 3876 tons per year in
1918 to 74 tons per year in 1979, and the use of
synthetic abrasives hastened the closure of the
mines. Today, natural corundum abrasive is used in
the fabrication of window glass for watches, and
manufacturing ceramics. Alumina powder is used as
a refractory mineral for traditional, composite
ceramics and for neoceramics due to its high
temperature of fusion (T > 2000°C). Alumina has a
high resistance to chemical attack and abrasion,
high electric and mechanical resistance, is inert in
reductive and oxidative atmospheres, and has a low
dielectric loss.
The main major and minor commercial,
industrial, and historical world sources of corundum
are reported in Figure 2-1. The high-value gem ruby
and sapphire are important mineral resources which
contribute significantly to the domestic product of
many countries. In 2005, Africa was responsible for
around 90% of world ruby production with 8,000
tons (Fig. 2-2) in addition to 42% of sapphire with
10,700 tons (Yager et al. 2008). Highest quality
ruby crystals are from central and southeast Asia.
Myanmar, with the Mogok Stone Tract, has
produced 'pigeon blood' rubies since 600 CE
(Hughes 1997), and the Mong Hsu deposit, first
reported by Hlaing (1991), has ruby which was
studied in detail by Peretti et al. (1995, 1996). Other
Asian producers include Thailand (Chanthaburi-Trat
mines) and Cambodia (Pailin). Ruby deposits in
Vietnam (Luc Yen, Yen Bai, Quy Chau),
Afghanistan (Jegdalek), Pakistan (Hunza valley),
Azad-Kashmir (Batakundi, Nangimali), and
Tajikistan (Kukurt, Turakoluma, Badakshan) have
become significant producers as the traditional areas
in Thailand have become depleted. Gem quality
ruby is also extracted in Tanzania (Umba-Kalalani,
Morogoro, Mahenge, Winza), Kenya (Mangare),
Mozambique (Montepuez, Ruambeze, M'sawize),
and Madagascar (Vatomandry, Andilamena, Didy).
Blue sapphire from Indian Kashmir (Sumjam) is the
source of the world's best quality, as well as those
from Myanmar and Sri Lanka. Australia, Thailand,
Cambodia, Nigeria, Laos, United States,
Madagascar, and China are also traditional sources
for blue sapphire. Colored sapphire is found
worldwide, but Sri Lanka is thus far the only
country to produce excellent quality crystals of all
colors, including salmon colored padparadscha.
Colored sapphire deposits were discovered in
Tanzania (Tunduru and Songea) and in Madagascar
(Ilakaka, Ambondromifehy, Vatomandry). In 2005

Plate 2
A. Pink sapphire crystals (foreground) with layering in marble. Revelstoke ruby occurrence in British Columbia, Canada.
Photograph courtesy L. Groat. B. Cut stones from the Revelstoke ruby and sapphire occurrence. From the bottom to the top
the weight of the sapphires are respectively of 0.38, 0.30, 0.20, and 0.14 carats. Photograph courtesy of B.S. Wilson.
C. Non-gem ruby in phlogopitite matrix, minor kyanite (blue) and plagioclase (white) also observable, hosted in leucogabbro
subjected to metamorphic metasomatism. This material was extracted at surface from the main ore zone at the Aappaluttoq
ruby deposit, southwest Greenland, Denmark. The weight of the different cut stones are respectively from left to right: on the
bottom 2.37, 0.71 and 4.03 ct, in the middle 0.73, 0.42, and 0.31 ct, and on the top 2.53, 0.77, 5.70, 1.26, and 1.34 ct.
Photograph courtesy of True North Gems Inc. D. Faceted rubies and pink sapphires from the Aappaluttoq deposit, Greenland,
Denmark. Photograph courtesy of True North Gems Inc. E. Amphibolitic gneiss hosting ruby in the M'sawize deposit at
Niassa, Mozambique. The ruby is associated with plagioclase (white), phlogopite (brownish-yellow) and amphibole
(greenish). Photograph courtesy of V. Pardieu © GIA. F. A 40-grams silky ruby crystal from Montepuez, Mozambique.
Photograph courtesy of V. Pardieu © GIA.

33
 GIULIANI ET AL. –– GEM CORUNDUM

FIG. 2-1. Main major and minor commercial, industrial, and historical world sources of corundum, ruby and sapphire.
Madagascar: 1- Ambondromifehy, Anivorano, Nosy Be, Ambato peninsula; 2- Andilamena, Didy, Vatomandry; 3-
Ankaratra (Antsirabe-Antanifotsy region, Soamiakatra); 4- Ilakaka-Sakaraha; 5- Tranomaro (Andranondambo). Ethiopia: 6-
Kibremengist, Dilla. Kenya: 7- Turkana, 8- Garba Tula; 9- Kitui; 10- Mangare (John Saul mine). Tanzania: 11- Umba
valley; 12- Longido; 13- Winza; 14- Morogoro, Mahenge; 15- Songea; 16- Tunduru. Malawi: 17- Chimwadzulu.
Mozambique: 18- Montepuez (Namahumbire/Namahaca), M'sawize, Ruambeze. Zimbabwe: 19- O'Briens (verdites). South
Africa: 20- Barberton (verdites); 21- Leydsdorp (Cobra pit). Cameroon: 22- Adamawa district. Nigeria: 23- Kaduna
plateau. Brazil: 24- Indaia. Chile: 25- El Salvador. Colombia: 26: Mercaderes. United States: 27- Plumas; 28- North
Carolina; 29- Montana. Canada: 30- Revelstoke; 31- Baffin Island. Denmark: 32- Greenland (Fiskenæsset district).
Scotland: 33- Loch Roag. Germany: 34- Eiffel. Switzerland: 35- Campo Lungo. France: 36- French Massif central. Italy:
37- Piemont. Czech Republic: 38- Jizerska Louka. Slovakia: 39- Cerová Highlands. Norway: 40- Froland. Finland: 41-
Kittilä. Macedonia: 42- Prilep. Greece: 43- Xanthi; 44: Naxos. Turkey: 45- Aidin province. Tajikistan: 46- Turakuloma,
Badakhshan. Afghanistan: 47- Jegdalek. Pakistan: 48- Hunza valley; 49- Batakundi, Nangimali. India: 50- Sumjam; 51-
Orissa, Kalahandi; 52- Karnakata (Mysore); 53- Andhra Pradesh (Salem district). Sri Lanka: 54-Ratnapura, Elahera,
Kataragama. Nepal: 55- Chumar, Ruyil. China: 56- Qinghai; 57- Yuan Jiang; 58- Hainan island (Penglai); 59- Fujian
(Mingxi); 60- Jiangsu; 61- Shandong (Changle). Vietnam: 62- Luc Yen, Yen Bai; 63- Quy Chau; 64- Da Lat, Ban Me
Thuot, etc. Myanmar: 65- Mogok; 66- Mong Hsu. Thailand: 67- Kanchanaburi, Bo Phloi; 68- Chantaburi-Trat. Cambodia:
69- Pailin; 70- Den Chai-Phrae; Laos: 71- Ban Huai Sai. Japan: 72- Ida. Australia: 73- Rosville-Lakeland Downs; 74- Lava
Plains; 75- Anakie fields; 76- West-Brisbane fields; 77- New England fields (Inverell); 78- Cudgegong, Barrington; 79-
Tumbarumba; 80- Western Melbourne fields; 81- Tasmania; 82- Harts range. New Zealand: 83- Westland (Hokitika).
Russia: 84- Podgelbanochny, Shkotovo plateau; 85- Primorye, Nezametnoye; 86- Polar Urals (Hit Island); 87- Ural
mountains (Kuchin-Chuksin-Kootchinskoye); 88- Karelia.
the Canadian company True North Gems Inc. Malagasy rubies are treated and cut in Bangkok and
collected ruby and pink sapphire from the sold at Idar-Oberstein in Germany. Bangkok is also
Aappaluttoq deposit near Fiskenæsset the main center of distribution for sapphires from
(Qeqertarsuatsiaat), Greenland (Rohtert & Ritchie Australia, Thailand, and Cambodia. Sapphires from
2006, Fagan et al. 2011, Fagan 2012). Other Sri Lanka are sometimes negotiated in Colombo, but
countries known to produce gem corundum the greater part is exported to Bangkok. Today,
sporadically include Brazil (Malacacheta, Indaia), Hong Kong also remains an important trade center
Canada (British Columbia, Baffin Island), Colombia for ruby and sapphire.
(Mercaderes), Malawi (Chimwadzulu), Russia The ruby and sapphire industry is a very
(Urals), and the United States (Idaho). lucrative business. Hughes (1997) devoted a chapter
Rubies from southeast Asia (Vietnam, to the corundum gem market and pricing, ‘‘How to
Myanmar) are cut and sold in Bangkok. African and judge the quality of fine ruby and sapphire and how

34
 GIULIANI ET AL. –– GEM CORUNDUM
FIG. 2-2. Global production of sapphire (A) and ruby (B) in 2005 with the percentages (%) for African countries (modified
from Yager et al. 2008). Global BGY sapphires production by country (C) and by type of deposit comparing BGY
sapphires in basaltic fields to other geological types (D).
to define a price of sale?’’ The term ‘‘fine’’ may vary
from one store to another, and among different
countries, and so too the price. When buying natural
quality ruby and sapphire, the criteria are based on
the geographic origin, but also on the clarity, the
color, the cut, and the weight in carats of the gem
(Hughes 1997). Enhancements and treatments are
also of importance in the final evaluation, and it is
very rare to find gem corundum that has not been
heat-treated (Themelis 1992). Thailand has great
expertise in heat treatment and today crystals of
corundum are routinely heat-treated in Thailand and
Australia. Drucker (in Shigley et al. 2000), at the
end of 1990, explained that the price of ruby fell
after controversy over its treatments. The medium
price of sale went from 4000 to 6000 USD/ct
between 1990 and 1992, and the price remained
stable up to 1997. The discovery of the Mong Hsu
deposit in 1991 provided a new global source of
excellent Burmese rubies, but the availability on the
market of heated remnants of Mong Hsu rubies
caused a fall in the price, to less than 4000 USD/ct,
between 1997 and 2000. Recent discoveries and
exploitation of ruby associated with biotitite in
amphibolite such as at the Aappaluttoq (Greenland)
and Montepuez (Mozambique) deposits will ensure
the supply of gem ruby in the near future (Plate 2).
They represent huge tonnage of ruby, approximately
400 million cts for the Aappaluttoq deposit, with
around 5% classed as gem grade (Fagan 2012).
35
Sapphire has not been affected by such controversy
and the prices have been stable around 2500 USD/ct
since 1991. In 2001 the input on the gem market of
a new kind of heat-treated orange sapphire has
caused much controversy and the issue of erroneous
certificates bearing the name of natural
padparadscha (McClure et al. 2002, Fritsch et al.
2003). Natural sapphire from Songea, Ilakaka and
even Burma and Thailand were heat-treated at
1800°C and in an oxidizing atmosphere in the
presence of Be. Beryllium diffused from the outside
of the stones inward, adding a yellow and orange
component and more clarity to the color of the
natural stone. Nowadays this sapphire is certified
diffusion-treated sapphire not to be confused with
natural untreated and heat-treated padparadscha.
The prices for fine untreated padparadscha
sapphires are quite demanding and only a few have
the opportunity to purchase them. Even heated
padparadscha sapphire is quite expensive if it is
good quality.
Ruby and sapphire are the most important
colored gemstones in today’’s world gem trade;
together they account for over 50% of global
colored gem production (Hughes 1997). Ruby is
perhaps the world’’s most expensive gemstone; the
best Burmese rubies are more valued than an
equivalent-sized awless colorless diamond
(Walton 2004). The world record price at auction
paid for a single ruby is USD 210,000 per ct in 2012
 GIULIANI ET AL. –– GEM CORUNDUM
for a 32.08 ct Burmese ruby (total USD 6.74
million). The world record price paid at auction for
a single blue sapphire is USD 3.84 million for a
spectacular 26.41 ct cushion shaped Kashmir
sapphire ($145 342 per ct). Recently discovered
ruby and sapphire from the Didy mine in
Madagascar (Pardieu 2012) also commands high
prices for natural unheated ruby. A set of eight
faceted rubies ranging from 7 to more than 14 ct
exceeded an estimated market value of USD
10 million (Peretti & Hahn 2013).
MINERALOGY, PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
AND GEOCHEMISTRY
Corundum belongs to the hematite group
(X2O3) of rhombohedral oxides comprising hematite
(Fe2O3), corundum (Al2O3), eskolaite (Cr2O3),
karelianite (V2O3), and tistarite (Ti2O3). There are
no solid solutions between any of the five species
but they have the same type of structure. Hematite
group mineral structures are based upon hexagonal
closest packing of O atoms, with cations in
octahedral coordination. Corundum crystallizes in
the 3 2/m class of the rhombohedral system with, for
the hexagonal multiple unit cell, a between 4.76 and
5.04 Å, and c between 12.99 and 14.01 Å (Cesbron
et al. 2002). The smallest unit cell volume of the
group is for corundum (rAl3+ = 0.54 Å) and the
largest for hematite (rFe3+ = 0.65 Å). The network of
O2–– ions (rO2–– = 1.40 Å) is formed practically by a
hexagonal closed packing formed by layers of ions
arranged successively in the order ABAB...etc. (Fig.
2-3). All the layers are stacked two-two. Four
36
stacked atoms of O leave between them a tetrahedral
site whereas six contiguous atoms of O leave
between them a bigger octahedral site occupied by
Al3+. As there are two atoms of Al for three atoms
of O, two octahedral sites in three are occupied in
each layer of Al. The chromophorous elements of
corundum, such as Cr3+, enter the corundum lattice
in place of Al.
Euhedral crystals can present different faces
(Fig. 2-4) that correspond to seven crystalline forms
(Cesbron et al. 2002): the pinacoid {00.1}, the first
order hexagonal prism {10.1} and second order
{11.0}, the hexagonal prism {kk.0}, the hexagonal
dipyramid {hh.l}, the ditrigonal scalenohedron
{hk.l} and the rhombohedron {h0.l}. The first five
crystalline general forms are also present in the
classes that belong to the hexagonal system.
Corundum can also crystallize in a particular texture
called 'trapiche' (Fig. 2-5), formed by six skeletal
arms which separate six sectors of growth
(Sunagawa et al. 1999, Garnier et al. 2002a).
Corundum has a hardness of 9 on the Mohs scale
and the specific gravity is between 3.98 and 4.06.
The lustre is adamantine to vitreous, transparent to
translucent. The cleavage is denied in the literature
but it is present in synthetic colorless sapphire (in
Hughes 1997). Cleavage is found along the
rhombohedron {h0.l} and the prism {kk.0}. Parting
is identical to cleavage and fracture is conchoidal to
sub-conchoidal when the break does not follow the
cleavage. The melting point of corundum is 2044°C
and its boiling temperature as 3500°C.
FIG. 2-3. A, Hexagonal close packing of
O2–– spheres. In the second layer, the
spheres are located in the B position, at
the contact with three spheres of the
lower layer, the third one overlapping in
the first one. In a cubic-centered faces,
the spheres of the third layer would
occupy the C position. B, Octahedral
site formed by the superposition of three
spheres in the position B on three others
in position A. Metallic ions are placed in
the C position and they are in octahedral
coordination. At the left is a vacant
tetrahedral site in the structure of
corundum (Cesbron et al. 2002). C, The
structure of corundum looking down the
c axis (Hughes 1997). D, Perspective
view of the corundum structure. Only
two of three octahedral sites are
occupied in each Al3+ layer.
 GIULIANI ET AL. –– GEM CORUNDUM

and phase equilibria are summarized by Bowles

FIG. 2-4. Crystalline forms of the 3 2/m class of the
rhombohedral system (after Cesbron et al. 2002). A,
positive rhombohedron {10.1}; B, negative
rhombohedron {01.1}; C, hexagonal dipyramid {hh.l};
D, pinacoid {00.1}; E, hexagonal prism of first order
{10.1}; F, hexagonal prism of second order {11.0}; G,
dihexagonal prism {hk.0}; H, ditrigonal scalenohedron
{hk.l}.
Corundum is uniaxial negative. Pure corundum
has a refractive index nȦ = 1.7687 and nİ = 1.7606.
Colored corundum with Fe and/or Cr atoms has a
variation respectively between 1.766 and 1.780 for
of nȦ and 1.758 and 1.772 for nİ. The birefringence
is extremely consistent at 0.008––0.009. Additional
optical and physical properties of corundum as well
as experimental work on its solubility, dissolution
(2011).
Pure corundum is colorless; the array of gem
corundum colors is due to impurities (chromo-
phores) that substitute for Al (in the form Al3+) in
the internal structure. Hughes (1997), Fritsch &
Rossman (1987, 1988), Emmett et al. (2003), Peretti
et al. (2008), Schwarz et al. (2008) and Rossman
(2009) provided excellent reviews and articles on
current understanding of corundum coloration.
Chromophorous elements are metallic ions from the
transition elements family of the periodic table.
When chromium (in the form Cr3+) replaces Al3+, a
red color results in the crystal but only if the Cr2O3
content is between 0.1 to 3.0 wt.% (Hughes 1997).
However concentrations of 9.4 wt.% were detected
in the ruby of Karelia (Bindeman & Serebryakov
2011)) and up to 13 wt.% in the ruby hosted in a
rock called ‘‘goodletite’’ within serpentinite from
Westland in New Zealand (Grapes & Palmer 1996).
The 'goodletite' is composed of ruby, tourmaline and
emerald green fuchsite and named for its discoverer
William Goodletite.
The optical absorption spectrum of ruby
consists of two large absorption bands (Fig. 2-6).
They are situated at highest energy with two
transmission windows at 480 nm centered in the

FIG. 2-5. Trapiche textures. A, Trapiche ruby from Mong Hsu. B, Texture in trapiche emerald (left) and trapiche ruby (right)
following a basal section (Sunagawa et al. 1999). Longitudinal section parallel to the c axis in a trapiche ruby (bottom).
C, Detail of the core of a trapiche ruby from Mong Hsu (Garnier et al. 2002a).

37
 GIULIANI ET AL. –– GEM CORUNDUM

FIG. 2-6. Typical polarized UV––Vis absorption spectra of sapphire and ruby. A, polarized spectra (E//c) of four sapphires of
different deposits (Notari & Grobon 2002). The interpretation of color, indicated for iron (Fe3+, line at 388nm and Fe3+
pairs, lines at 450nm and 377nm), and Fe and Ti (Fe2+ Æ Ti4+, band at 565nm). B, polarized absorption spectra (E//c) of
Winza ruby (Schwarz et al. 2008) and orangey-pink sapphire from Madagascar (Peretti & Günther 2002). The spectrum of
ruby shows the well-known Cr3+ absorption bands at 405––410 and 560nm, and the Cr "doublet" at 694nm. The sapphire
from Madagascar is reminiscent of padparadscha color (Fe + Cr), with for Cr (Cr3+, band centered at 405––410 nm and 554
nm), for Fe (Fe3+, line at 388 nm, and Fe3+ pairs, lines at 450 nm, and bands at 540 nm), and for Ti (Fe2+ Æ Ti4+ charge
transfer band centered at 565 nm).
blue, and at 610 nm centered in the red. As the of other elements such as Fe, Ti and Cr (Fritsch &
human eye is more sensitive in the red just above Rossman 1987, Hughes 1997), and charge transfer
610 nm than in blue, ruby appears red. In the involving Fe2+, Fe3+, Ti4+ (Fig. 2-6), and color
corundum structure, Cr3+ occupies a site where the centers (Fristch & Rossman 1988). Less than 0.01%
distance between the metallic ion and O is short of Fe and Ti are necessary to obtain the blue color
(1.913 Å), and in consequence the Cr3+ ions have of sapphire.
high electrostatic repulsion and the absorption Color from fuchsia to reddish can be ascribed to
feature is shifted to higher energies than for other sapphires (Caucia & Boiocchi 2005, Ralantoarison
Cr-bearing minerals such as green Cr-zoisite where et al. 2006, Andriamamonjy et al. 2013) and they
the average metal––O distance is 1.967 Å (Dollase then resemble ruby; however, the concentration of
1968), causing the red color. Chromium-related red Fe is always higher than Cr and the fluorescence is
fluorescence under ultraviolet light and sometimes very low because Fe quenches the fluorescence
even in daylight, combined with the red color of effect. In marble deposits, a crystal of ruby can be
ruby, is the cause of the particular fire effect found made up of regions of ruby and regions of pink
in Burmese and Vietnamese rubies. Substitution of sapphire but in each zone, the content of Cr2O3 will
Al3+ by iron (Fe2+or Fe3+) and titanium (Ti4+) always be higher than the content of Fe2O3. The
generates the blue color of sapphire by a mechanism definition of ruby (like emerald; Giuliani et al.
of heteronuclear intervalence charge transfer 2004) has to take into account not only the color,
between metal ions, i.e., Fe2+––O––Ti4+ (Fig. 2-6) The but also the chemistry (Cr2O3 > Fe2O3), and the
heat treatment of colorless ‘‘geuda’’ sapphires absorption spectra features. The orange-pink to
produces blue stones because during the dissolution pinkish-orange colored corundum variety is called
of inclusions of rutile and spinel at high ‘‘padparadscha’’ (Notari 1997), a term derived from
temperatures, Fe and Ti are released into the crystal the Sanskrit padmaraga, signifying the color of the
and form pairs of Fe2+––O––Ti4+, which then allow lotus flower. The color is due to the presence of Cr3+
intervalence charge transfer as Fe2+ ĺ Ti4+ in octahedral coordination (pink hue) and of Fe3+ in
(Themelis 1992). Color in colored sapphires is due intervalence charge transfer with O2–– (yellow hue;
to the classical substitution of Al3+ by a combination Schmetzer & Bank 1981).

38
 GIULIANI ET AL. –– GEM CORUNDUM
THE GEOLOGY OF GEM CORUNDUM
DEPOSITS
Corundum forms in mafic and siliceous
geological environments, but it is always associated
with rocks depleted in silica and enriched in
alumina. In the presence of silica, Al is
preferentially incorporated into aluminosilicate
minerals such as feldspars and micas. The mineral
association of corundum commonly consists of
plagioclase, sapphirine, biotite, phlogopite,
amphibole, pyroxene, and carbonate minerals
(Garnier et al. 2004a).
Gem corundum is rare because its requires an
environment enriched in alumina and impoverished
in silica, but also the presence of Cr, Fe, and Ti to
substitute for Al in the structure (Muhlmeister et al.
1998, Abduriyim & Kitawaki 2006), and
thermobarometric conditions favorable for its
crystallization and stability (Kievlenko 2003,
Simonet et al. 2008). Corundum can be hosted in
different rocks type but two major geological
environments are favorable for the presence of gems
(Simonet et al. 2008). These are (1) amphibolite- to
medium pressure granulite-facies metamorphic
belts. The gem corundum field corresponds to a
domain above 3 kbar, and temperature between 500
and 800°C (Fig. 2-7). The lithologies are alumina-
rich and/or silica-poor rocks such as marble,
39
aluminous gneiss, mafic and ultramafic rocks (M––
UM), or juxtaposed felsic and silica-poor rocks
(limestone, marble, M––UM) affected by the
circulation of fluids at their contact and altered by
metasomatism (desilicated pegmatite, skarn, etc.);
and (2) alkaline basaltic volcanism in continental
rifting environments.
Marble is a silica- and alumina-depleted rock,
and under these conditions the transport of alumina
by a fluid phase seems necessary for the crystalliz-
ation of corundum; however, Al is usually
considered to be an immobile element. In meta-
morphic rocks, corundum crystallizes at high
temperatures and high to medium pressure such as
in garnet––clinopyroxene assemblages in clino-
pyroxenite and metagabbro from the lower crust at a
temperature around 1100°C and a pressure about 20
kbar (Rakotosamizanany 2009).
Corundum rarely occurs in granite; for
example, Wilson (1975) described blades of blue
sapphire associated with pink andalusite in the
Land's End granite in Cornwall. The author
suggested that the corundum and andalusite formed
in xenoliths of pelitic rocks assimilated by the
granite. Sapphire is also described in Chilean skarns
formed in the thermal anomaly accompanying the
porphyry copper intrusions in El Salvador and Los
Prelambres mines (Singer et al. 2008).
FIG. 2-7. P––T conditions for the formation of
corundum in metamorphic deposits (modified
from Simonet et al. 2008). P––T fields of North
Carolina (Tenthorey et al. 1996), Mangare
(Mercier et al. 1999a), Morogoro (Altherr et al.
1982), southern Kenya (Key & Ochieng 1991,
Simonet 2000), Hunza (Okrusch et al. 1976), Sri
Lanka (De Maesschalk & Oen 1989), Greenland
(Garde & Marker 1988), Kashmir (Peretti et al.
1990) with three P––T boxes corresponding to the
evolution of the fluids in the sapphire crystals
from the center (c), to intermediate (i) and outer
(o) zones, Urals (Kissin 1994), and Mong Hsu
(Peretti et al. 1996).
 GIULIANI ET AL. –– GEM CORUNDUM
During the past two last decades, our
knowledge of the formation of corundum deposits
has improved significantly (see papers in Groat
2007, Graham et al. 2008a). However, there exists
little genetic data on primary gem corundum
deposits, i.e., gem corundum that is hosted by a
mother rock, certainly insufficient to understand the
formation of all deposits and to elaborate precise
genetic models. Magmatic deposits have been
studied the most. The geology and mechanisms of
formation of basalt deposits in Asia and Oceania
have been the focus of several studies (Coenraads et
al. 1990, 1995, Levinson & Cook 1994, O'Reilly &
Zhang 1995, Guo et al. 1996a, 1996b; Sutherland &
Coenraads 1996, Sutherland et al. 1998a, 1998b,
Limkatrun et al. 2001, Sutherland & Schwarz 2001,
Sutthirat et al. 2001, Garnier et al. 2005, Graham et
al. 2008b, Sutherland et al. 2009a, 2009b,
Sutherland & Abduriyim 2009, and Abduriyim et al.
2012), as well as their ages of formation (Coenraads
et al. 1990, Guo et al. 1992, Coenraads et al. 1995,
Khin Zaw et al. 2006, Sutherland et al. 2008,
Graham et al. 2008b). Sapphire associated with
lamprophyre at Yogo Gulch in Montana (USA) was
studied by Voynic (1985), Meyer & Mitchell
(1988), Brownlow & Komorowski (1988), Gauthier
et al. (1995) and Harlan (1996). Sapphire hosted in
monchiquite at Loch Roag in Scotland was
described by Jackson (1984) and Upton et al. (1983,
1999, 2009). In Kenya, Simonet et al. (2004)
studied in detail the Garba Tula sapphire deposit
hosted by dykes of syenite. Studies of albitite dikes
in serpentinized lherzolite in the Pyrenees, France,
has shed new light on the origin of corundum and
associated xenoliths in alkali basalts (Monchoux et
al. 2006, Pin et al. 2006). Finally, sapphire and ruby
inclusions in diamond from Brazil were reported by
Watt et al. (1994) and studied by Hutchinson et al.
(2001, 2004).
Models of formation of the other types of
deposits, i.e., metamorphic, metasomatic––hydro-
thermal, have been insufficiently developed. Indeed,
the most famous deposits are not necessarily
accessible due to government policy or military
conflicts (e.g., Azad-Kashmir, Afghanistan,
Myanmar, Tajikistan, Colombia), and others (such
as Madagascar) have not been systematically
investigated (Rakotondrazafy et al. 1996,
Rakotosamizanany et al. 2009a, 2009b, Peretti &
Hahn 2013). The Mogok Stone Track in Myanmar
was mapped by Iyer (1953), but modern geological
investigations were lacking until Harlow et al.
(2006), Kyaw Thu (2007), Themelis (2008), Yui et
40
al. (2008), and Nissimboim & Harlow (2011). The
Jegdalek ruby deposit in Afghanistan, described by
Al-Biruni in the 11th century, was only recently
studied by Bowersox & Chamberlain (1995).
Garnier (2003) and Garnier et al. (2008) reported
detailed geological and geochemical studies of ruby
deposits from the Hunza valley (Pakistan),
Nangimali (Azad-Kashmir), and Luc Yen-Yen Bai
(northern Vietnam), and proposed a new genetic
model for marble-hosted ruby. Likewise, the
economic interest in blue and padparadscha
sapphires found in placer deposits from Sri Lanka
has stimulated local geologists to characterize the
parental rocks to guide exploration in the Highlands
Precambrian series of the island (Rupasinghe &
Dissanayake 1985).
Further, the majority of geological studies are
performed with economic objectives and the reports
remain confidential (Bassett 1984, Malik 1994).
Because of this most published research is focused
on the gemology and mineralogy of corundum, and
details of the geological context, mechanisms of
formation, and the origin of the mineralizing fluids
are scarce (Okrush et al. 1976, Peretti et al. 1990,
Mercier et al. 1999a, Giuliani et al. 2003, Garnier et
al. 2008, Schwarz et al. 2008). Oxygen isotopic data
for corundum are now available (Gauthier et al.
1995, Pomian-Srzednicki 1997, Upton et al. 1999,
Yui et al. 2003, 2006, 2008, Giuliani et al. 2005,
2007a, 2007b, 2009, 2012a, Khin Zaw et al. 2006,
Sutherland et al. 2009a, 2009b, Uher et al. 2012).
The global distribution of corundum deposits is
closely linked to collision, rift and subduction
geodynamics. Three main periods of corundum
formation are recognized worldwide as described
below (Giuliani et al. 2007a, Graham et al. 2008b,
Stern et al. 2013).
The Pan-African orogeny (750 –– 450 Ma)
Primary ruby and sapphire deposits found in the
gemstone belt of eastern Africa, Madagascar, India
and Sri Lanka are linked to the collisional processes
between East and West Gondwana (Fig. 2-8), during
Pan-African tectonometamorphic events (Kröner
1984). The metamorphic ruby and sapphire deposits
from southern Madagascar have numerous
geological similarities with those from eastern
Africa (Mercier et al. 1999a, 1999b, Giuliani et al.
2007b Rakotondrazafy et al. 2008, Feneyrol et al.
2013), Sri Lanka (Rupasinghe & Dissanayake 1985,
Silva & Siriwardena 1988, Dharmaratne et al.
2012), and South India (Santosh & Collins 2003).
Based on correlations between gem- and graphite-
 GIULIANI ET AL. –– GEM CORUNDUM

FIG. 2-8. Juxtaposition of Antarctica, Sri Lanka, India, Madagascar, and Eastern Africa in a tight-fit reconstruction of
Gondwana with the location of the main gem corundum deposits (modified after Windley et al. 1994, Dissayanake &
Chandrajith 1999, Mercier et al. 1999b, Collins & Windley 2002; Santosh & Collins 2003, Rakotondrazafy et al. 2008,
Feneyrol et al. 2013). Eastern Africa: GT, Garba Tula; M, Mangare; T, Twiga; SN, Si Ndoto; LL, Longido and
Lonsogonoi; MM, Mahenge and Morogoro; K, Kalalani and Umba; S, Songea; T, Tunduru. Mozambique: Mz, Montepuez;
Madagascar: Ila, Ilakaka; ZS, Zazafotsy and Sahambano; Vo, all the deposits from the Vohibory region; Am,
Ambatomena; An, Andranondambo; And, Andilamena; Dy, Didy. South India: My, Mysore; KK, Karur-Kangayam
corundum belt; Or: Orissa. Sri Lanka: RE, Ratnapura and Elahera, WC, Wanni complex; HC, Highland complex.
Antarctica: NC, Napier complex; RC, Rayner complex; LHC, Lützow-Holm complex; YBC, Yamoto-Belgique complex.

41
 GIULIANI ET AL. –– GEM CORUNDUM

bearing rocks Menon & Santosh (1995) and
Dissanayake & Chandrajith (1999) proposed the
existence of a Neoproterozoic––early Cambrian
gemstone province developed under granulite-facies
conditions in East Gondwana. The common
presence of ruby and pink sapphire in Kerala and
southern Madagascar led Santosh & Collins (2003)
to support the view that the Achankovil shear zone
in southern India extends into the Ranotsara fault
zone (Fig. 2-8) in Madagascar (Collins & Windley
2002). However, few studies have concentrated on
the petrology, mineralogy and geochronology of the
extensive mineralization associated with the
formation of Gondwana. The ages of formation of
protolith ruby have been dated by U––Pb in zircon
from the John Saul mine in Kenya, Longido in
Tanzania, and Vohibory deposits in Madagascar.
The respective ages of 612 ± 6 Ma (Simonet 2000),
610 ±0.6 Ma (Le Goff et al. 2010), and 612 ±5 Ma
(Jöns & Schenk 2008) pinpoint a similar period of
formation related to the East African orogeny.
Moreover, U––Pb ages of zircon coeval with blue
gem sapphire in the Andronandambo skarn deposit
range between 523 and 510 Ma (Paquette et al.
1994), and the 40Ar/39Ar ages of biotite syngenetic
with sapphire and ruby from the deposits of
Ambatomena, Sahambano and Zazafotsy range
between 494 and 487 Ma (Giuliani et al. 2007b).
These ages confirm a corundum mineralizing
episode during the late Pan-African orogenic cycle
(Cambrian), specifically corresponding to the
Kuunga orogeny (Meert et al. 1995, Meert 2003).
The Cenozoic Himalayan orogeny (45 Ma ––
Quaternary)
The marble-hosted ruby deposits in central and
eastern Asia occur in metamorphic blocks that were
affected by major tectonic events during the
Cenozoic Indo-Asian collision (Garnier et al.
2006a). The ruby was indirectly dated by 40Ar/39Ar
stepwise heating experiments performed on single
grains of syngenetic phlogopite (Garnier et al.
2002b, Pêcher et al. 2002, Garnier et al. 2006b), and
by ion probe U––Pb analyses of zircon inclusions in
corundum (Garnier et al. 2004b, 2006b). All of the
Oligocene to Pliocene ages (40––5 Ma) are consistent
with extensional tectonic events that were active
from Afghanistan to Vietnam, in the ruby-bearing
metamorphic belt (Fig. 2-9).

FIG. 2-9. Location of marble-hosted ruby deposits from central and southeast Asia. Ar––Ar dates on
phlogopite syngenetic with ruby are from Garnier et al. (2006b).

42
 GIULIANI ET AL. –– GEM CORUNDUM
The Cenozoic alkali basalt extrusions (65 Ma ––
Quaternary)
Gem corundum occurs worldwide as xenocrysts
or megacrysts either in xenoliths or enclaves
incorporated in basaltic magmas during their ascent.
Such sapphire and ruby deposits occur from
Tasmania, Australia, in the south, through eastern
Australia, Southeast Asia and eastern China to far
eastern Russia (Graham et al. 2008b). They are also
found in Nigeria and Cameroon, in the Aïr and
Hoggar regions (Wright et al. 1985, Boaka à Koul et
al. 2011), the French Massif Central in the Limagne
rift (Merle et al. 1998, Gaillou et al. 2010, Giuliani
et al. 2009, 2010), and in Northern and Central
Madagascar (Rakotosamizanany 2009, Rakoto-
samizanany et al. 2009a, 2009b).
In general, U––Pb isotope ages of zircon in
sapphire-bearing xenoliths show ages that are
similar to K––Ar and 40Ar/39Ar ages of the basalt
(Sutthirat et al. 1994, Sutherland et al. 2002, 2003).
The zircon inclusions dated in magmatic sapphire
are considered to represent corundum crystallization
ages. In the Australian and Asian West Pacific
margins intraplate basaltic fields, the U––Pb ages on
zircon are widespread between 60 and 1 Ma
(Sutherland et al. 2002, Graham et al. 2008b).
Limited U––Pb data gave ages of 150 and 180 Ma for
zircon from Cudgegong (Sutherland et al. 2003),
and 400 Ma for those from Tumbarumba (Graham
et al. 2004). Generally, the sapphire fields’’ gems
produced a simple eruptive event and zircon––
sapphire crystallization age while others had in most
two zircon––sapphire ages and two eruptive events
(Graham et al. 2008b). Age correlation of Cenozoic
gem corundum occurrences with associated
magmatic and tectonic events in central and east
Asia is reported in Figure 2-10. It shows that the
magmatic––polygenetic corundum crystals within the
basaltic fields largely crystallized in a tectonic
regime of distributed E––W extension (with the
opening of the Tasman and Coral Seas) whereas the
metamorphic––metasomatic corundum (ruby in
marble) crystallized in a transpressional regime
associated with the collision between Indian and
Eurasian plates (Graham et al. 2008b).
CLASSIFICATION OF CORUNDUM
DEPOSITS
Several classification schemes have been
proposed based on different features such as the
morphology of corundum (Ozerov 1945), the
geological context of the deposits (Hughes 1990,
1997), the lithology of the host rocks (Schwarz
43
1998), the genetic processes responsible for
corundum formation (Simonet 2000, Simonet et al.
2008), the genetic type of deposits (Kievlenko
2003), the type of deposit and the nature of the
corundum host rock (Garnier et al. 2004a; Walton
2004, Giuliani et al. 2007a), and the oxygen isotopic
composition of corundum (Giuliani et al. 2005,
2012a). The geological classification schemes group
well-known deposits with lithological criteria as a
common basis (marble, gneiss, basalt, and others).
With this approach, the physical and chemical
mechanisms of corundum formation, the source of
the fluids, and the origin of the elements are
generally not constrained by stable and radiogenic
isotopes, fluid inclusions, and geochemistry; and
therefore the genesis of the deposits remains
uncertain. For example, for marble-hosted ruby
deposits, the presence of granite in the proximity of
the marble does not imply that the deposit is a skarn
type related to the emplacement of the granite, as
suggested by Kievlenko (2003). Dating of the
mineralization, its host rock, and the intrusion is the
first step to take after fieldwork to create a true
genetic story. The study of solid and fluid inclusions
trapped by corundum during growth sometimes
allows assessment of the following conditions of
corundum crystallization: temperature, pressure, and
composition of the fluids (e.g., Upton et al. 1999,
Sutthirat et al. 2001). Muhlmeister et al. (1998)
classified ruby deposits into three categories by
analyzing the chemical composition of the ruby by
X-ray fluorescence: basaltic, marble, and
metasomatic deposits (including the deposits of
Umba, Tanzania, and Kenya). The concentrations of
trace elements (Fe, V, Ga, and Ti) are different
among the three categories (Fig. 2-11). Ruby
associated with basalt (Thailand and Cambodia) is
Fe-rich, and V- and Ga-poor. Ruby in marble
(Afghanistan, Myanmar, Nepal, and China) is V-
rich, and Ga- and Fe-poor (excepting ruby from
Afghanistan and some analyses from China, Nepal
and Mogok mines in Myanmar). Metasomatic ruby
presents a great variation of trace element
concentrations and also high variability for its host
rocks. The combination of chemical fingerprinting
of corundum with the nature of solid inclusions
allows the gemologist to separate great families of
ruby, but gemological study should not be
disconnected from knowledge of the geological
environment and formational processes.
Corundum deposits can be classified into
primary and secondary deposits. They are
considered primary where the corundum is either
 GIULIANI ET AL. –– GEM CORUNDUM

FIG. 2-10. Age correlation of Cenozoic gem corundum deposits with associated magmatic and tectonic events in central and
east Asia (modified after Graham et al. 2008b). The dates are from: East Tibet––Indochina igneous rocks (Wang et al. 2001);
Himalayan granite bodies (Singh & Jain 2003), tectonic activity (Yin et al. 2002); age of ruby deposits (Garnier et al.
2002b, 2004b, 2005, 2006b, Graham et al. 2006a, 2006b, Yui et al. 2006, Sutherland et al. 2002, Akinin et al. 2004,
Graham et al. 2008b).

44
 GIULIANI ET AL. –– GEM CORUNDUM
FIG. 2-11. Chemical composition of natural and synthetic rubies (after Muhlmeister et al. 1998). Gallium (Ga)––vanadium (V)––
iron (Fe) diagrams (in wt.%) of (A) natural ruby from different deposits, and (B) natural versus synthetic ruby.
hosted in the rock where it crystallized, or in the
rock that carried it from the zone of crystallization
in the crust or mantle to the Earth’’s surface (as
xenolith or enclave). Secondary deposits are
sedimentary and of detrital origin. They correspond
to the accumulation, in basins of variable extent, of
material eroded from primary deposits. This
material has been primarily transported by rivers.
The primary deposits are subdivided into two
sub-groups, according to the magmatic or
metamorphic context of the corundum deposit (Fig.
2-12). Magmatic deposits include corundum in
alkali basalt, sapphire in lamprophyre, sapphire in
syenite, and corundum associated with porphyry
copper mineralization and kimberlite (Fig. 2-12a).
Metamorphic deposits are divided into metamorphic
deposits sensu stricto (marble, mafic and ultramafic
rocks, granulite, cordieritite, gneiss, and migmatite),
and metamorphic––metasomatic deposits (Fig. 2-12b)
characterized by high fluid––rock interaction and
metasomatism (plumasite [i.e., desilicated pegmatite
in mafic and ultramafic rocks] and marble, skarn
deposit, shear-zone related deposits in different
substrata, mainly corundum-bearing Mg-biotite
schist but having experienced granulite-facies
metamorphic conditions).
GEOLOGY AND GENESIS OF PRIMARY
CORUNDUM DEPOSITS
Magmatic deposits
Corundum in magmatic deposits is found in
plutonic and volcanic rocks. In plutonic rocks,
corundum is associated with rocks deficient in silica
and their pegmatites, especially syenite and
45
nepheline syenite. Corundum is formed by direct
crystallization from the magmatic melt as an
accessory mineral phase. The classical examples are
the syenite pluton from Haliburton and Bancroft
(Ontario, Canada; Moyd, 1949), and the Kangayan
syenite (Coimbatore district, Madras, India, Hughes
1997). In addition, aluminous rocks carried as
xenoliths by plutonic rocks can lead to the formation
of corundum, as in the xenoliths of biotite schist
carried by a monzonite at San Jacinto, in Southern
California (Murdoch & Webb 1942). Corundum is
found also as an accessory mineral in porphyry Cu
deposits (Bottril 1998).
In volcanic rocks, sapphire and less commonly
ruby are found in continental alkali basalt extrusions
(Sutherland et al. 1998a). Corundum is found as
xenocrysts in lava flows and plugs of subalkaline
olivine basalt, high alumina alkali basalt, and
basanite. The sapphire is blue-green-yellow (BGY)
and the deposits only have economic importance
because advanced weathering in tropical regions
concentrates sapphire in eluvial and especially large
alluvial placers. Sapphire also occurs in alkaline
basic lamprophyre (Brownlow & Komorowski
1988) as mafic dikes of biotite monchiquite
(lamprophyre characterized by the abundance of
phlogopite and brown amphibole, olivine,
clinopyroxene, analcime), ouachitite (a variety of
monchiquite) and diamond-bearing kimberlite.
Sapphire in lamprophyric dikes (xenocryst):
sapphire was discovered in Montana in alluvial
gravel by gold prospectors in 1894 (Voynic 1985,
Hughes 1997). The placer deposits occur associated
46
GIULIANI ET AL. –– GEM CORUNDUM

FIG. 2-12. Classification of primary corundum deposits based on the lithology of the corundum-host rocks. A, The magmatic deposits with their main types. For
each type the origin of ruby and/or sapphire is precised: magmatic versus metamorphic. Photographs respectively 1 courtesy of F. Fontan, 2 and 6 of L.-D. Bayle,
3 and 5 G. Giuliani, and 4 of S. Rakotosamizanani.
47
GIULIANI ET AL. –– GEM CORUNDUM

FIG. 2-12. Classification of primary corundum deposits based on the lithology of the corundum-host rocks. B, The metamorphic deposits with their main types.
Photographs respectively 1 to 4, and 6 courtesy of G. Giuliani, 5 and 6 of L.-D. Bayle.
 GIULIANI ET AL. –– GEM CORUNDUM

with the Missouri River, Dry Cottonwood Creek,
Rock Creek, and Yogo Gulch (Fig. 2-13). The
primary deposit of Yogo Gulch was intensely
developed from 1897 to 1929. The sapphire is
hosted by an Eocene ultramafic lamprophyre and
hydrothermal breccia known as the Yogo dike,
which is 8 km long and 2 m thick (Brownlow &
Komorowski 1988, Meyer & Mitchell 1988). The
dike is a member of the Central Montana alkali
province (Cade & Groat 2006) and cuts
Carboniferous limestone and shale, which
underwent contact metamorphism. Underground
mining took place at a depth of 100 m from the
surface and from 1 to 1.5 km in length. The sapphire
grade is highly variable and can reach up to 70 ct
per ton, and 5 ct per ton in hydrothermal breccia
with limestone fragments (Myachaluk 1995).
This sapphire is famous for its cornflower blue
coloration, the rarity of inclusions and zoning, and
its brilliancy under natural and artificial light
(Myachaluk 1995). Among the sapphires produced,
97% are blue, ranging from pale to saturated color;
the others are purple to violet. Solid inclusions of
pyrite, phlogopite, calcite, rutile, spinel, zircon, and
analcime are rare (Gübelin & Koivula 1986).
Sapphire crystals are up to 1 ct, but the largest
reported raw crystal weighed 19 ct. The crystals
(Fig. 2-14) have an uncommon aspect due to the
combination of a flattened rhombohedron (k{30.2},
d{01.2}, r{10.1}, b{10.7}) and pinacoid {0001}
(Hughes 1990). Nevertheless, the majority of the
crystals have not kept their original form because
they were rounded, corroded, and broken by the
magma (Clabaugh 1952, Dahy 1988, Gauthier et al.
1995).
The sapphire host rock is composed of
megacrysts of phlogopite and diopside dispersed in
a matrix of phlogopite, clinopyroxene, calcite,
analcime, magnetite, and apatite (Brownlow &
Komorowski 1988). Accessory minerals include
spinel and sapphire crystals with a corona of dark
green spinel (Gauthier et al. 1995). Chemical
analysis by Meyer & Mitchell (1988) showed that
the rock can be classified as a ouachitite, defined by
LeMaitre (1989) as an ultramafic lamprophyre
containing olivine, phlogopite, amphibole, and/or
clinopyroxene phenocrysts within a groundmass of
feldspathoid and carbonate minerals, first described
from the Ouachita River in Arkansas (Kemp 1890).
FIG. 2-14. Crystal habits of sapphire from Yogo Gulch,
Montana (after Hughes 1997). r, rhombohedron {10.l};
c, pinacoid {00.1}; d, rhombohedron {10.2}; n,
second-order hexagonal dipyramid {22.3}.

FIG. 2-13. Map of Montana sapphire localities (after Mychaluk 1995). 1, Yogo Gulch; 2, Missouri River; 3, Cotton Creek; 4,
Dry Cottonwood.

48
 GIULIANI ET AL. –– GEM CORUNDUM
Within the lamprophyre Brownlow & Komorowski
(1988) described xenoliths of cumulates, composed
of megacrysts of olivine, Ti-augite, and hypersthene
dispersed in a fine matrix, with a chemical
composition between monchiquite and ouachitite.
The origin of corundum in lamprophyre bodies
is debated on the basis of a magmatic versus
metamorphic origin. Clabaugh (1952) suggested an
excess of alumina in the magmatic melt by
assimilation and fusion of alumina-rich sedimentary
or metamorphic rocks that favored the
crystallization in situ of the sapphire. Brownlow &
Komorowski (1988) proposed the following
magmatic genesis: (1) formation of an aluminous
magma by the partial fusion of mantle rocks
enriched in alumina; (2) magmatic differentiation
with crystallization of sapphire and cumulates of
olivine, augite, and hypersthene; (3) injection of the
magma into the upper crust, with the corrosion of
sapphire by the residual liquid magma; (4)
fractionation of the residual liquid into a silicate
liquid and a gas phase; (5) explosive injection of the
dike with brecciation of the limestone and
hydrothermal alteration. Berg (2002) observed
volcanic glass on two alluvial sapphire crystals from
western Montana and suggested dacitic volcanic
rocks as a possible source material (in Walton
2004). Garland (2003) studied the trace element
chemistry of sapphire and its solid inclusions and
concluded that the sapphire might be of
metamorphic origin. The xenocrysts were included
in the lamprophyric magma and brought up to the
surface. The sapphire formed between 580 and
720°C at about 30 km depth. Cade & Groat (2006)
showed that reddish-orange garnet inclusions within
the Yogo sapphire formed in the mantle in group II
eclogite (B), according to the classification of
Schultze (2003). They therefore considered the
sapphire to occur as xenocrysts in the melt,
originating from the mantle. Giuliani et al. (2005)
have shown that colored and blue sapphires from
Yogo Gulch have į18O-values between 5.4 and
6.8‰‰ V––SMOW (mean 6.0 ±0.4‰‰, n = 16). For a
mean sapphire į18O of 6‰‰, the calculated oxygen
isotope composition of water in equilibrium with the
corundum as a function of temperature (between
600 and 800°C) indicates an oxygen reservoir
characterized by crustal į18O (between 12.6 and
14.5‰‰).
The genesis of the Montana sapphire is not
resolved because the composition of garnet
inclusions within the crystals is a strong argument
for the hypothesis that sapphire crystals are
49
xenocrysts probably formed in mantle eclogite (but
the į18O values indicate a crustal origin), and
subsequently brought up by the lamprophyric
magma.
At Loch Roag in Scotland sapphire occurs in a
Paleozoic monchiquite dike crosscutting Archean
pyroxene gneiss (Jackson 1984). The monchiquite
contains megacrysts of biotite, sanidine,
anorthoclase, apatite, and sapphire, and mantle
xenoliths. The corundum crystals are up to 3 cm in
diameter and present hexagonal, pyramidal-
dipyramidal or bladed habits. The smallest crystals
are blue but the biggest are spotty blue and green,
some with yellow patches (Kievlenko 2003).
Mineral inclusions include hematite and rutile. The
Loch Roag monchiquite is similar in geochemical
composition to the Yogo Gulch dike. Jackson
(1984) noted a similarity in petrographic
composition, and the presence of mantle xenoliths,
in lamprophyre dikes and sapphire-bearing lavas in
Australia and Thailand. He suggested a genetic
affinity between the two types of intrusive and
extrusive magmatism.
Upton et al. (1983) reported some 70 localities
in northern Britain and Ireland where deep-seated
xenoliths (spinel lherzolite and pyroxenite) and
megacrysts have been brought up by basaltic
magma. In Scotland, megacrysts are abundant
anorthoclase, biotite, clinopyroxene, magnetite,
zircon, and apatite. These minerals occur as
megacrysts but also as polycrystalline syenite
xenoliths. Composite xenoliths provide evidence
that the anorthoclasites may occur as pegmatitic
veins crosscutting pyroxenitic wall rocks in the
shallow mantle (Upton et al. 1999). The geochem-
istry and oxygen isotope composition of sapphires
(4.6 < į18O < 5.25‰‰, n = 4) and feldspar indicate
crystallization of these syenitic facies from felsic
melts originating from partial melting of meta-
somatized mantle rocks (Upton et al. 1999, 2009).
Sapphire in syenite (megacryst): sapphire is a
typical mineral of pegmatite in syenitic rocks. The
pegmatite contains megacrysts of K-feldspar,
titanite, Nb––Ta minerals, and sapphire (Kievlenko
2003). Corundum is mainly opaque but in some
cases it is transparent and translucent with a
dominant blue color. Its gemstone production is
small, although gems were extracted from syenite
pegmatites in Russia (Ilmeny-Urals, Khibiny-Kola
Peninsula), Canada (Haliburton, Bancroft,
Dungannon, all in Ontario), India (Coimbatore,
Madras), and Norway (Seiland, Finmark). Sapphire
 GIULIANI ET AL. –– GEM CORUNDUM
is also found in a unique example of sapphire
bearing-monzonite, the Dusi deposit, known as
Garba Tula syenite, in Kenya. The į18O values of
sapphire in syenite define a range between 4.4 and
8.3‰‰ (n= 25; Giuliani et al. 2010).
The Ilmeny-Urals deposit was discovered in the
19th century in the southern Urals. Sapphire-bearing
pegmatite occurs as veins some tens of metres long,
1.5 to 2 m thick, and up to 200 to 300 m along
strike, in a large biotite-nepheline syenite. It consists
dominantly of plagioclase (albite––oligoclase), with
orthoclase, muscovite, biotite, and hornblende
(Kievlenko 2003). Corundum is either disseminated
or in pockets. It is intergrown with plagioclase and
garnet and commonly rimmed by biotite. The
crystals have barrel or bladed shapes and are
typically 3 to 4 cm long. The corundum is not
transparent and is bluish to brownish-gray; less
commonly it is pink, yellow or green. The
corundum is associated with zircon, ferrocolumbite,
aeschinite (Nb––Y oxide), fluorite, and molybdenite.
The same type of deposit is described in the Khibini
syenitic massif, Kola Peninsula (Kievlenko 2003).
Transparent varieties of sapphire are very rare and
are cornflower blue to deep blue.
In Ontario, Canada, corundum and limited gem
sapphire are found in nepheline syenite pegmatite
within an alkaline belt (Field 1951, Kievlenko
2003). Nepheline syenite from Hastings County
contains orthoclase and albite feldspar. Nepheline is
very abundant and is associated with cancrinite,
sodalite, scapolite, calcite, biotite, and hornblende.
These silica-undersaturated rocks are formed by low
degrees of partial melting in the Earth’’s mantle.
Bancroft sapphire crystals are greyish-blue to violet
and are associated with microcline, titanite, and
biotite. However, the į18O values of respectively
7.6, 7.8, 7.6, and 9.3‰‰ for the sapphires of
Craigmont, Hastings-New Carlow, Craig Hill, and
Dungannon indicate a crustal contamination of the
magma oxygen reservoir.
The Dusi (Garba Tula) deposit in Central
Kenya was discovered by nomads in the 1960s (Fig.
2-15). The deposit is a subvertical dike several
metres thick and with an inferred horizontal
extension of several kilometres. It is in contact with
biotite-hornblende gneiss, but the lack of outcrop
does not permit study of the field relations with the
host rocks nor appraisal of the continuity of the dike
(Simonet et al. 2004). The dike is leucocratic
monzonite, and is made of K-feldspar (microcline)
and albite (An3––7) in equal proportions, biotite,
zircon and magnetite, and is classified in the QAPF
50
diagram of LeMaitre (2002) as an alkali-feldspar
syenite. Zircon is included in feldspar or in
corundum. U––Pb geochronology on zircon crystals
allowed dating of the crystallization of the dike at
579 ±6 Ma (Simonet 2000) which corresponds to
one of the tectonic events of the Mozambique
metamorphic belt. Sr––Nd isotopes indicate that the
monzonite is of mantle origin, with little or no
participation of a crustal component (Simonet et al.
2004). The corundum is barrel-shaped with a size
varying from a few millimetres to more than 20 cm.
The gem material varies in color from dark blue to
golden yellow (Plate 1C), through various shades of
blue, green and yellow (Feneyrol et al. 2013). The
crystals contain significant amounts of iron (FeO
between 0.95 and 1.13 wt.%) and are Ti-poor (TiO2
< 0.04 wt.%). Simonet et al. (2004) compared the
Dusi sapphires with those found in the Turkana gem
field in northern Kenya, which are associated with
Tertiary basalt. Indeed, they have the same range of
color (identical to the BGY sapphire suite defined
by Sutherland et al. 1998a), the same habit, the
same chemical composition, and similar inclusions.
Simonet et al. (2004) suggested that the similarities
between sapphire crystals and the association with
zircon is a strong indication of a similar
crystallization in a peraluminous Zr-rich syenitic
melt. Yellow and green sapphires from Garba Tula
have į18O values of 5.2‰‰ (Giuliani et al. 2005)
which clearly indicate a mantle derivation (į18O
mantle of 5.5 ± 0.4‰‰, Mattey et al. 1994).
FIG. 2-15. Major gem corundum deposits of Kenya
(modified from Simonet 2000).
 GIULIANI ET AL. –– GEM CORUNDUM

At Urdach and Espéchère in the western
Pyrenees, France, dikes of pegmatitic albitite have
intruded serpentinized lherzolite bodies. The albitite
contains albite, muscovite, and biotite, with chlorite,
epidote, zircon, titanite, thorite, pyrochlore,
aeschinite, ferrocolumbite, rutile, ilmenite, and
magnetite (Monchoux et al. 2006). The corundum-
bearing albitite also contains Nb-bearing rutile,
samarskite, manganocolumbite, fersmite, and
fergusonite. In corundum-free albitite, the
paragenesis is composed of allanite, chevkinite,
apatite, and monazite. The texture of the rock is
pegmatitic and corundum is barrel-shaped, dark
blue, pale blue or gray. Geochemical and isotopic
data of the albitite rocks document a mantle origin
for these rocks (Pin et al. 2006). They have very
high contents of Sr (up to 1089 ppm), Ba (up to 860
ppm), Nb (167––299 ppm), Ta (6––17 ppm), and an
extreme enrichment of the light rare-earth elements
(Ce ~ 1020 ppm). İNd values range from 1.9 to 3.4
and the 87Sr/86Sr initial ratios are between 0.7039
and 0.7068, reflecting a mantle source without any
major contribution from continental crust. The į18O
values of sapphire between 5.1 and 5.4‰‰ for the
Espéchère deposit confirm the mantle source. Those
from Urdach deposits between 6.1 and 6.6‰‰, show
a į18O increase indicative of a hybridization of the
mantle material (Giuliani et al. 2010).
huge placers. They include the deposits of the
corundum belt of eastern Australia (Fig. 2-16) that
extends from Queensland in the north to Tasmania
in the south (Oakes et al. 1996, Sutherland 1996,
Sutherland & Coenraads 1996, Graham et al. 2008b,
Abduriyim et al. 2012); in Asia (Fig. 2-1), the
deposits of Mingxi, Fujian Province (Keller &
Keller 1986), of Changle, Shandong Province (Guo
et al. 1992), and Penglai, Hainan Island in China
(Furui 1988); the provinces of Binh Thuan, Lam
Dong, Dong Nai, and Dak Lak in southern Vietnam
(Smith et al. 1995, Poirot 1997, Garnier et al. 2005);
Pailin, Cambodia (Lacombe 1970, Jobbins &
Berrangé 1981); the provinces of Chanthaburi-Trat,
Kanchanaburi (Vichit et al. 1978, Sutthirat et al.
2001), and Denchai in the province of Phrae in
Thailand (Limkatrun et al. 2001); Laos (Sutherland
et al. 2002); in central and far eastern Russia with
the deposits of Nezametnoye, Podgelbanochny, and
Shkotovo Plateau (Graham et al. 2008b); in Africa,

Corundum in porphyry Cu deposits (accessory

mineral): corundum is an accessory mineral found
in several porphyry Cu deposits in Tasmania (Botrill
1998), British Columbia (Simandl et al. 1997), El
Salvador and at Los Pelambres deposits in Chile
(Singer et al. 2008). At the Empress Cu––Au––Mo
deposit in southwestern British Columbia corundum
is reported in association with an andalusite-
pyrophyllite rock free of quartz. Corundum growth
has been explained by a rapid heating of the cool
meteoric water influx in fractures over the thermal
anomaly of the porphyry Cu. The sapphire grains
are on a millimetre scale, and can be transparent,
colorless, or blue. Although corundum is theoretic-
ally incompatible with quartz, a metastable associ-
ation quartz––corundum––andalusite––pyrophyllite has
been described in a zone of intense hydrothermal
pervasive argillic alteration associated with the
Bond Range Tasmanian porphyry Cu deposit
(Botrill 1998). FIG. 2-16. Gem corundum in the basaltic terranes of
Eastern Australia with the main sapphire mines of
Corundum in alkali basalt (xenocryst and Australia. Most production is centered on the Lava
xenolith): blue-green-yellow (BGY) sapphire makes Plains, Anakie, New England and Oberon fields
up most of the gem trade and is concentrated in (modified after Sutherland & Schwarz 2001)

51
 GIULIANI ET AL. –– GEM CORUNDUM
the sapphire deposits of Cyangugu in southwest
Rwanda (Krzemnicki et al. 1996), of the Kivu
region in the Democratic Republic of Congo
(Frazier & Frazier 1990), the region of Turkana in
the north of Kenya (Barot et al. 1989, Keller 1992,
Simonet 2000), the province of Kaduna in Nigeria
(Irving & Price 1981, Kiefert & Schmetzer 1987),
the regions of Mamfe and Adamawa in Cameroon
(Lettermann & Schubnel 1970, Boaka à Koul et al.
2011), the volcanic massif of Atakor in the Algerian
Sahara (Conquéré & Girod 1968), and the Aïr
massif in Niger (Carbonel & Robin 1972); deposits
in the region of Ambondromifehy, Antsiranana
Province, and Antsirabe in Madagascar (Lacroix
1922, Schwarz et al. 2000, Rakotosamizanany 2009,
Rakotosamizanany et al. 2009a, 2009b); in Europe,
the Espaly deposit, near Puy-en-Velay, in France
(Carbonel et al. 1973, Forestier 1993, Giuliani et al.
2009, 2010, Gaillou 2003, Gaillou et al. 2010), in
the Eifel massif in Germany (Hochleitner 1998), in
the alluvial deposits of Jizerská Louka and
Trebivlice-Ceské in the Czech Republic (Hughes
1997), the deposit of Wilcza PorĊba in Poland
(Maliková 1999), in the alluvial deposits of
Hajnáþka and Gortva in southern Slovakia (Uher et
al. 1999, 2012), and in Loch Roag in Scotland
(Upton et al. 1983, 1999, 2009), and lastly in South
America, the Mercaderes––Rio Mayo deposit in
Colombia (Keller et al. 1985, Sutherland et al.
2008).
These deposits have a number of features in
common. To begin with, they are generally
associated with intra-plate alkali basalts containing
ultramafic xenoliths, mainly mantle lherzolite
(Coenraads et al. 1990). The corundum is
commonly associated with pyrrhotite, clino-
pyroxene, zircon, Fe-rich spinel, and in some cases
sapphirine (Muhlmeister et al. 1998, Sutthirat et al.
2001, Giuliani et al. 2009, 2010). The xenocrysts of
corundum contain numerous mineral inclusions
(e.g., Nb-bearing rutile, ilmenite, ferrocolumbite,
fersmite, samarskite, zircon, feldspars, apatite and,
in some, sulfides (Simonet 2000, Graham et al.
2008a). These mineral inclusions are enriched in Zr,
Nb, Hf, Ta, and lithophile elements such as U in
betafite and uranopyrochlore, and in Th such as
thorite.
The corundum commonly exhibits corrosion
features on the surface of the crystals due to
transport by the magma (Coenraads et al. 1995,
Sutherland & Coenraads 1996). In the placers, the
crystals are broken but they keep their usual six-
sided barrel or "keg of beer" shape (Guo et al.
52
1996a).
Within a single gem province, variations of
color observed for corundum found ~10 km apart
suggest the existence of multiple sources for the
gemstones (Coenraads et al. 1990, Sutherland et al.
1998b). Indeed, Sutherland et al. (1998b) and
Sutherland & Schwarz (2001), studying the trace
element contents distribution in corundum from the
states of New South Wales and Victoria, found
evidence for two contrasting geochemical fields,
one for magmatic sapphire and one for metamorphic
crystals. The same geochemical behavior was
confirmed for corundum of the Kanchanaburi-Bo
Rai and Nam Yuen deposits in Thailand, and Pailin
in Cambodia. The chemical variation diagram Fe/Ti
versus Cr/Ga proposed by Sutherland et al. (1998b)
is commonly used for the separation of magmatic
and metamorphic blue sapphires from several
deposits worldwide (Fig. 2-17). On the one hand,
the corundum crystals called "metamorphic" have
pastel (blue, pink, orange) to ruby color, and are
rich in Cr and poor in Ga (Cr2O3/Ga2O3 ratio > 3);
solid inclusions are chromiferous spinel, pleonaste,
Al-rich diopside and sapphirine. On the other hand,
the corundum crystals called "magmatic" are
xenocrysts of BGY sapphires with a Cr2O3/Ga2O3
ratio < 1; the solid inclusions are Nb-bearing rutile,
FIG. 2-17. Fe2O3/TiO2 versus Cr2O3/Ga2O3 diagram of
blue sapphire from non-basalt-related and basalt-
related origins (after Abduriyim & Kitawaki 2006).
The metamorphic blue sapphires originate from the
placers of Ilakaka in Madagascar, Ratnapura in Sri
Lanka, and Mogok in Myanmar. The magmatic blue
sapphires are from the placers of Bo Phloi and
Kanchanaburi in Thailand, and Changle in China. The
chemical field of the BGY sapphires defined by
Sutherland & Schwarz (2001) is also reported.
 GIULIANI ET AL. –– GEM CORUNDUM
ilmenite, ferrocolumbite, pyrochlore, fersmite,
samarskite, hercynite, magnetite, zircon and Fe
oxides.
Over the last decade use of laser ablation––
inductively coupled plasma––mass spectrometry
(LA––ICP––MS) analysis applied to trace elements in
gemstones (Günter & Kane 1999, Guilliong &
Günther 2001) has brought new insights on
geographic typing of gem corundum in basaltic
environments (Abduriyim & Kitawaki 2006, Peucat
et al. 2007, Sutherland & Abduriyim 2009).
Generally, Fe and Ga reveal higher concentrations
in magmatic sapphire (a1800 to 11000 ppm Fe and
a70 to 570 ppm Ga) than in metamorphic
corundum, which have Fe and Ga contents less than
3000 and 75 ppm, respectively (Sutherland et al.
2002, 2009a, Khin Zaw et al. 2006, Peucat et al.
2007). Low Cr and Mg contents are typical for
magmatic sapphire (both usually < 40 ppm), whereas
gem corundum of metamorphic origin is enriched in
these elements (both generally >60 ppm). Therefore,
the Ga/Mg ratio is usually > 6 in magmatic sapphire
and < 3 in that of metamorphic origin. Conversely,
the Cr/Ga ratio is < 0.1 for magmatic and > 1 for
metamorphic sapphire. The Fe/Ti ratio is generally
higher in magmatic than metamorphic sapphires.
The Fe/Mg ratio is also significantly different in
magmatic and metamorphic sapphires (Peucat et al.
2007), very high for magmatic (Fe/Mg >> 100) and
low for metamorphic and metasomatic sapphires
(Fe/Mg < 100). The use of the different discrimin-
ating binary and ternary diagrams and chemical
ratios (Fe/Ti, Ga/Mg, Fe/Mg) is somewhat
debatable and the origin of sapphire crystals from
the Hajnáþka placer and Gortva syenite in southern
Slovakia is a good example (Uher et al. 2012). The
different ratios of Fe/Ti, Ga/Mg, and Fe/Mg for blue
sapphires indicate bimodal origins whereas the
mineral inclusions were magmatic. They signify that
the final composition of the magmatic sapphires
depends of the behavior of the parent magma during
crystallization which can sometimes generate
discrepancies with the use of the chemical diagrams
for corundum classification.
The deposits from Nigeria and Cameroon are
linked to a mantle plume located beneath the rift of
the volcanic province of Guinea that extends
northward to the basaltic plateau of Aïr and Hoggar
(Wright et al. 1985, Déruelle et al. 2007). The
deposits in Rwanda, Democratic Republic of
Congo, and of Baringo in Kenya (Simonet, 2000)
are associated with the East African rift. The
deposits in the French Massif Central are located on
53
the southern extension of the Limagne rift (Merle et
al. 1998), also associated with a mantle plume. In
Australia, it is generally accepted that the central
volcanoes became younger towards the south
(Sutherland 1996). This variation, developed during
the last 35 Ma, suggests that the migration towards
the north of the Indo-Australian plate occurred
above a mantle plume. The huge basaltic provinces
(70––14 Ma) resulted from the rise from the mantle
of a region of high geothermal gradient, related to
the extension provoked by the opening of the
Tasman and Coral Seas (Graham et al. 2008b)
and/or the separation of Gondwana at the end of the
Mesozoic (O'Reilly & Zhang 1995). The geological
context of formation of the basalts in Southeast Asia
is debatable. Levinson & Cook (1994) thought that
the alkali basalts in Thailand, Cambodia, and
Vietnam were associated with the subduction of the
Indian plate under the Eurasian plate. Barr &
McDonald (1979) proposed crustal pinching with a
mantle rise that would explain the volcanic
eruptions in Thailand. Barr & McDonald (1981),
Whitford-Stark (1987), and Hoang & Flower (1998)
considered that the Neogene to Quaternary
intraplate volcanism is associated with the formation
of "pull-apart" basins and rifts. This magmatic
activity post-dated the collision between India and
Eurasian plates (Fig. 2-9) and is linked to the
extrusion of the Indochina Peninsula.
Several mechanisms have been proposed for the
formation of ruby and sapphire found within alkali
basalt. Although the models differ, researchers now
agree that the gems formed at great depths, under
metamorphic or magmatic conditions; subsequently
the parental rocks were intruded by the alkali basalt
magma, and mineralized xenoliths or sapphire
xenocrysts were transported upwards to the surface
(Coenraads et al. 1990; Levinson & Cook 1994,
Sutherland & Coeenrads 1996, Guo et al. 1996a,
Upton et al. 1999).
Experimental studies have shown that
corundum and mineral inclusions such as zircon,
ferrotantalite, pyrochlore-group minerals, ferro-
columbite, and samarskite cannot crystallize from a
basaltic magma (Levinson & Cook 1994; Guo et al.
1996a). The sapphires must have grown in an
environment rich in Th, Zr, Nb, Ta, V, alkali
elements such as Na and K, and Fe, Al, and volatile
components. The etching on the surface of
corundum suggests that crystals were partially
absorbed into the entraining magma. Nevertheless,
Sutherland et al. (1998a) thought that such etching
is not sufficient to conclude that crystals are
 GIULIANI ET AL. –– GEM CORUNDUM
xenocrysts; indeed, such etched surfaces are
sometimes observed on olivine, pyroxene, and
plagioclase phenocrysts in the alkaline olivine
basalt, as a result of modification of pressure and
temperature.
Xenocrysts in alkali basalt may have several
origins. Levinson & Cook (1994) proposed a two-
stage model of genesis. In the first stage, corundum
formed in the crust, at depths of 20 to 50 km, by
metamorphism of aluminous rocks (such as shale or
mudstone) or by metamorphism of gibbsite. In the
second stage the corundum was transported to the
surface. While ascending to the surface, the magma
incorporated xenoliths of corundum-bearing rocks.
These xenoliths were dissolved and the refractory
minerals (corundum and zircon) were brought to the
surface. This model leads to the problem of the
existence of an aluminous protolith of bauxitic or
lateritic composition, commonly found at the
surface, but not on subduction-prone ocean floors. A
subduction zone may have been active before the
crustal extension in Australia, but this is not the case
either in eastern Africa or in Southeast Asia
(Saminpanya 2000), and the model seems dubious
here.
The origin of ruby has long been debated but its
metamorphic origin is now accepted. Study of the
trace element contents and mineral inclusions
(sapphirine, spinel) in Barrington rubies from
Australia (Sutherland et al. 1998a) indicated a
metamorphic origin and similarity to some
Cambodian––Thai rubies from Southeast Asian
basaltic gem placers. Sutthirat et al. (2001) reported
temperatures of crystallization for ruby between 800
and 1150 ±100°C and pressures between 10 to 25
kbar, corresponding to depths of 35 to 90 km, for
ruby-bearing clinopyroxene xenocrysts with garnet
and sapphirine inclusions from eastern Thailand.
They proposed a garnet clinopyroxenite and garnet
granulite source in the lower crust or upper mantle
(ultramafic rocks), as previously suggested by
Sutherland et al. (1998a). The nature of the solid
inclusions trapped by ruby is important for P––T
thermobarometry determinations. Sutherland et al.
(2003) found Al-rich diopside, meionite and anatase
in a xenolith from the Cudgegong-Macquarie River
in New South Wales. Clinopyroxene––corundum
thermometry suggested T > 1000––1300°C, but the
presence of meionite (silvialite variety) indicated a
probable high-T skarn type source.
Rakotosamizanany (2009) found ruby in pyroxenite
and metagabbro enclaves in alkali basalt from the
primary Soamiakatra deposit in the Ankaratra
54
massif of Madagascar. Three stages were character-
ized by: (1) the association of clinopyroxene 1 +
pyrope + scapolite + ruby 1, and spinel + ruby 1 +
pyrope, indicated a P––T formation of 1100°C and 20
kbar, at the limit of the eclogite domain; (2) the
destabilization of scapolite in anorthite + calcite
related to the transformation of diopside in pargasite
(at 1100°C and P < 20 kbar), and by spinel + ruby 1
+ pyrope in sapphirine (at 1100°C and P ~ 15 kbar);
and (3) the association phlogopite + ruby 2 related
to the destabilization of spinel + ruby 1 + pyrope
during decompression. Metagabbro went from
eclogite to granulite facies.
Among magmatic models, Irving (1986) argued
that corundum crystallized from undersaturated
felsic magma at high pressure, and Aspen et al.
(1990) concurred that corundum originated from the
crystallization of syenite generated in the crust or
the upper mantle. Coenraads et al. (1990) proposed
that corundum formed in magmas, enriched in
volatile and incompatible elements, derived from the
fusion of mantle but with a low rate. This may
explain why corundum is not in equilibrium with
magmas generated from partial fusion, and why the
surfaces of the crystals are commonly etched.
Coenraads et al. (1995) proposed that sapphire from
Australia and Thailand crystallized from phonolitic
magma at pressures equivalent to those found at the
mantle––crust boundary. The thermal events that
generated such magma bodies are directly linked to
the processes that have generated and caused
eruption of the corundum-bearing alkali basalt
magma.
Guo et al. (1996a) studied mineral inclusions in
corundum from Australia, China, Thailand, United
States, and Kenya placer deposits. They suggested
that corundum forms by the mixing and/or
interaction between carbonatite and a magmatic
system of alkaline or hyperalkaline magmas (Fig.
2-18), in the liquid or solid state (alkaline granite or
syenitic pegmatite). During an extensional event
linked to the rise of the asthenosphere, carbonatite
bodies crystallized in the crust between 10 to 20 km
depth; these carbonatite bodies are locally crosscut
by syenite and granitoid plutons. The mechanism of
hybridization between these two systems can
provoke the rapid crystallization of corundum, and
the formation of lenses of rock carrying corundum
with its characteristic mineral association. Later, a
rapid basaltic volcanic event occurred with included
fragments of rock and lenses with corundum.
This genetic model is complex because it
requires the coincidence of successive magmatic
 GIULIANI ET AL. –– GEM CORUNDUM
events. It is not a satisfactory model that can be
applied to all the deposits found elsewhere on the
Earth. Sutherland et al. (1998a) rejected the model
because, in the African rift, corundum is generally
found in alkali basalt located at the periphery of the
central uplift and not in association with ultramafic
rocks and carbonatite, as suggested by the model.
Sutherland (1996) proposed that corundum
formed during the crystallization of felsic alkali
magma produced by the fusion of metasomatized
lithosphere. Sutherland & Coenraads (1996),
studying the assemblage ruby-sapphirine-spinel
found in the placers from Barrington in Australia,
proposed that the fusion of ultramafic rocks at high
temperatures and pressures by basanite can produce
limited volumes of anatectic magma able to
crystallize these assemblages with aluminous and
refractory minerals. The fusion of the accessory
phases rich in Cr, such as chromiferous spinel or
chromite, would contribute to the local
concentration of Cr, allowing the crystallization of
ruby and sapphire in millimetre-size crystals. The
discovery of ruby-bearing garnet pyroxenite and
metagabbro enclaves in the Soamiakatra alkali
basalt from Madagascar (Rakotosamizanany 2009)
renders the hypothesis of Sutherland & Coenraads
55
FIG. 2-18. Genetic model for the origin of
corundum xenocrysts in alkali basalts based on
a crustal growth model for eastern Australia
(after Guo et al. 1996a). 1- Crystallization of
carbonatite in crustal extensional zone, and
locally crosscut by granitoid rocks. 2-
Hybridization process between these two
systems leads to the formation of corundum
lenses. 3- Later in the history, alkali basalts
intrude the corundum lenses and corundum is
carried up to the surface.
(1996) unlikely. Rubies originate from mafic and
ultramafic rocks in the subcontinental lithosphere
(Kornprobst et al. 1990). The range of į18O values
defined for rubies found in placers from basaltic
environments is between 1.3 and 5.9‰‰ (mean į18O
= 3.1 ±1.1‰‰, n = 80, Giuliani et al. 2007a). The
oxygen isotopic range fits within the range of rubies
associated with mafic and ultramafic rocks (0.25 <
į18O < 6.8‰‰, n = 21). The į18O values of ruby
lower than 5‰‰ indicate a previous high-temperature
seawater interaction of the parental rocks (Yui et al.
2006). This hypothesis was already proposed by
Pearson et al. (1993) for the low į18O values of
clinopyroxene from the ruby-bearing pyroxenite
from the Beni Bousera peridotite complex in
Morocco; moreover, the į18O value of this ruby is
4.4‰‰.
Sutherland et al. (1998a) proposed a genetic
model in four stages for the formation of 'magmatic'
sapphire from eastern Australia (Fig. 2-19). The
lithosphere is displaced above a mantle plume. A
low rate of initial fusion generated felsic magma
enriched in volatile elements in zones where the
lithosphere is rich in amphibole, allowing the
crystallization of corundum and zircon. This magma
can also be derived from a mantle enriched in
 GIULIANI ET AL. –– GEM CORUNDUM
FIG. 2-19. The successive stages for corundum formation
and eruptive alkali basalt transport for eastern Australia
gem fields (after Sutherland et al. 1998a).
amphibole and mica, or from a mantle enriched in
felsic components, at between 45 and 90 km depth.
When the lithosphere is located above the plume, a
high rate of partial fusion produces alkali basaltic
magma that extracts and carries assemblages with
corundum as xenocrysts and in xenoliths. When the
lithosphere moves away from the plume, the rates of
fusion decrease and lead again to the crystallization
of corundum and zircon. This model explains the
enrichment of Hf, Nb, and Ta, generally observed in
minerals cogenetic with corundum, and in
amphibole veins found in the peridotite xenoliths
(Sutherland et al. 1998b).
The presence of a mantle plume under the
lithosphere is a main geodynamic feature for the
56
genesis of such "magmatic corundum", but the
mechanism of generation of the Al-rich magma is
not yet constrained.
Pin et al. (2006) have shown that the albitite
dikes of Espéchère and Urdach in the western
Pyrenees (France), which intruded serpentinized
lherzolite, are of mantle origin. The mineral
accessory phases of these albitite dikes are roughly
similar to those found in xenoliths associated with
alkali basalt fields. Such xenoliths are generally
composed of alkali feldspar ± zircon ± corundum
and megacrysts. Pin et al. (2006) observed that the
Si––Al––Na-dominated bulk composition is similar to
that of certain glass inclusions included in
peridotitic xenoliths in alkali basalt. In addition, the
extreme enrichment of incompatible elements in the
albitite implies premelting metasomatism by a fluid
or a melt. These rocks are interpreted to be products
of very low degree of partial melting of a
harzburgite source previously enriched by
carbonatite-related metasomatism. The presence of
volatile phases such as H2O and CO2 may account
for the variation of the solubility of SiO2 and Al2O3
in mantle fluids and the consequent precipitation of
corundum in some batches of felsic magma.
The geochemical composition of the albitite
bodies plots in the field of syenite in the diagram of
Cox et al. (1979) as does that from the sapphire-
bearing syenite of Garba Tula (Simonet et al. 2004).
A syenitic origin for sapphire is confirmed by the
case studies of different examples of sapphire-
bearing anorthoclasite from Scotland (Upton et al.
1999), France (Giuliani et al. 2010), Slovakia (Uher
et al. 2012) and Madagascar (Giuliani et al. 2009).
The sapphires plot in the geochemical field of
syenite (Fig. 2-20A) and their solid inclusions are
typical of magmatic BGY sapphire (Upton et al.
1999, Gaillou et al. 2010, Uher et al. 2012). The
į18O range of sapphires between 4.4 and 6.5‰‰ (Fig.
2-20B) fits in the isotopic range of sapphire in
syenite (4.4 < į18O < 8.3‰‰, n = 25; Giuliani et al.
2010). Nevertheless, the origin of the parent magma
has not yet found a consensus: the mantle source
model without crustal contamination (Pin et al.
2006) is not in agreement with the models proposed
by Guo et al. (1996a) and Sutherland et al. (1998a).
We should add that the chemical composition of
magmatic glass inclusions trapped in sapphire
crystals from Menet, Coupet, and Sioulot in France
(Gaillou et al. 2010), are trachytic with high Al2O3
(15 to 22 wt.%), K2O (5 to 6 wt.%) and Na2O (4 to
6 wt.%). Uher et al. (2012) proposed that the
anorthoclasite from Gortva in southern Slovakia was
 GIULIANI ET AL. –– GEM CORUNDUM

FIG. 2-20. The sapphire crystals associated with anorthoclasite xenoliths in alkali basalt (modified from Uher et al. 2012): the
cases of Hajacka (Slovakia), Loch Roag (Scotland), Menet (France) and Kianjanakanga (Madagascar). A, FeO –– Cr2O3 ––
MgO –– V2O3 versus FeO + TiO2 + Ga2O3 diagram (in wt.%) used for the geological classification of corundum deposits
(Giuliani et al. 2010). The main fields defined for the different types of gem corundum deposit are: for ruby, marble (R1);
John Saul Ruby Mine (Kenya) type (R2); mafic and ultramafic rocks (R3); metasomatites (R4); for sapphire, syenitic rocks
(S1); metasomatites (S2); xenocrysts in alkali basalt and lamprophyre (S3). The domains of R4 and S2 which correspond to
metasomatic––metamorphic corundum are overlapping. The sapphires from the anorthoclasites of Loch Roag,
Kianjanakanga and Menet plot in the field of syenite (S1). The sapphire of Hajnacka plots in the metasomatite-related field
(S2). B, Oxygen isotope values (į18O; V––SMOW, Vienna Standard Mean Ocean Water) of the same sapphires, with
reference to the worldwide į18O database (Giuliani et al. this work). The į18O values are between 4.4 to 5.2‰‰ which fall in
the range of sapphire crystals in syenite. For comparison the į18O values of the sapphire in syenite from Garba Tula
(Kenya), Urdach and Espéchère (France) are reported.

57
 GIULIANI ET AL. –– GEM CORUNDUM

derived from an igneous reservoir in the sub-
continental spinel lherzolitic mantle (į18O of
sapphire = 5.1 ‰‰). In the lithospheric mantle, felsic
melts crystallized to form anorthoclasite, the most
evolved peraluminous variant of the alkaline
basaltic melt. The proposed model is consistent with
an origin of analogous felsic syenitic xenoliths from
southern Slovakia where petrological study
indicated a pressure around 600 MPa (6 kbar, ~200
km depth) and liquidus temperature of inclusion
melts at ~1080°C (Huraiová et al. 1996).
Corundum in kimberlite (accessory mineral,
xenocryst and xenolith): corundum has been
described as crystal inclusions in diamond,
xenocryst or megacryst in xenoliths from kimberlite
bodies: (1) ruby and Cr-bearing sapphire crystals
have been reported as syngenetic inclusions in type
II diamond from the alluvial deposits in Brazil (Watt
et al. 1994, Hutchinson et al. 2001, Hutchinson et
al. 2004), and in a cut diamond of unknown origin
(Meyer & Gübelin, 1981). The size of the crystals in
Juina diamonds is less than 200 µm and the color is
red or red-brown, blue vitreous or light blue, and
white. The Cr2O3 contents of the ruby are between
0.3 and 9.2 wt.%. The association of a ruby crystal
with aluminous pyroxene and ferropericlase placed
the origin of ruby-bearing diamonds within the
lower mantle at ~770 km (Hutchinson et al. 2004);
(2) crystals of ruby and sapphire are found as up to
1.5 cm xenocrysts in the Mbuyi-Mayi kimberlite in
the Democratic Republic of Congo (Pivin et al.
2013). The color of ruby varies from red to fuchsia
and flashy-pink, and its Cr2O3 content reaches up to
5.6 wt.%. The į18O of 5.55 ± 0.05‰‰ (n = 3)
indicates for ruby clearly a mantle derivation with
no substantial variations (į18O mantle of 5.5 ±0.4‰‰;
Mattey et al. 1994). (3) Cr-bearing sapphires of less
than 100 µm size were recorded in kimberlite
xenoliths in kyanite eclogite from the Roberts
Victor mine (Hatton 1978), corganite xenoliths
(Mazzone & Haggerty 1989) and corgaspinite
xenoliths (Exley et al. 1983; Mazzone & Haggerty
1989) from Jaggersfontein and Bellsbank in South
Africa. Padovany & Tracey (1981) recorded a 150
µm long Cr-rich ruby (Cr2O3 content up to 3.2
wt.%) in a pyrope-spinel xenolith of the kimberlite
from Moses Rocks Dike, Utah.
Metamorphic deposits
Corundum is a high temperature mineral that
forms naturally by metamorphism of alumina-rich
rocks under amphibolite- and granulite-facies
conditions (Fig. 2-21). Most corundum is formed as

FIG. 2-21. The different types of metamorphic corundum deposits in their geological and geodynamical environments such as
plumasite, skarn, desilicated gneiss and granite, cordieritite, biotite schist in shear zone, mafic––ultramafic rocks, and
marble. The geodynamic model shows also the location of the ruby and sapphire deposits associated with alkali basalt in
continental extension domains. The vertical dimension is not to scale. The subcontinental lithosphere is not represented.

58
 GIULIANI ET AL. –– GEM CORUNDUM

emery during regional metamorphism of bauxite

lenses in limestone, as fine aggregates of corundum
with mica, hematite, magnetite, and sericite e.g.,
Naxos and Samos islands in Greece, and Smyrna in
Turkey, or at the contact of aluminous schist and
intrusive mafic and ultramafic rocks e.g., Peekskill
in Winchester County, New York State, USA. Gem
quality corundum is absent in emery deposits.
Metamorphic corundum gem deposits are found
in complexes formed by mafic and ultramafic rocks,
marble, quartzite, gneiss and metapelite where
heated either regionally or by the thermal anomaly
generated by the intrusion of different plutonic
rocks and crosscut by their dikes and intrusive
bodies such as granite and pegmatite. The various
formation mechanisms depend on either isochemical
metamorphism i.e., regional metamorphism or
metasomatic metamorphism i.e., contact and/or
hydrothermal affecting the contrasting lithologies.
Nevertheless, these mechanisms are not well
understood for each type of deposit and they remain
hypothetical. Moreover, in some cases, several
episodes of metamorphism have affected the
complexes, as in the Neoproterozoic metamorphic
Mozambique Belt that runs from Somalia through
Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique,
Madagascar, South of India, Sri Lanka, and to East
Antarctica (750––540 Ma). Each episode had
different thermobarometric and chemical conditions,
and the formation of corundum would have to be
defined accurately on a pressure––temperature––time
scale. Accordingly, the proposed classification for
metamorphic corundum relies on the lithology, and
FIG. 2-22. Types of metasomatic deposits located at the
not on the chemistry of the corundum or the type of contact between two chemically different rocks (after
metamorphism. Simonet et al. 2008). The metasomatic fluid circulated
along the contact between two rocks of contrasting
Metamorphic deposits associated with desilicated lithology such as ultramafic rock or marble and
pegmatite and skarn-related granite or mafic– pegmatite or gneiss. The percolation inside the rocks
ultramafic rocks: these corundum deposits formed induced metasomatic desilication of the silica-rich
as the result of hydrothermal metasomatism rocks and the formation of metasomatic rocks such as
occurring either at the contact of intrusive plagioclasite (desilicated pegmatite, i.e., the
aluminosilicate plutonic rocks or mafic––ultramafic plumasite), and/or phyllosilicate-rich rocks (phlogopite
schist, vermiculite schist, chloritite).
rocks and host rocks depleted in silica (Fig. 2-22)
such as marble, amphibolite, and ultramafic rocks, (1986) thought that corundum was the result of the
or at the contact of a shear zone. interaction of invading pegmatitic fluids and vapor
The origin of desilicated pegmatite erroneously with the host rock. Today, the hydrothermal––
called "anorthosite" (Kievlenko 2003) has been metasomatic theory proposed by Korzhinsky (1964,
debated since the 19th century. Pratt (1906) 1970), and revised by Kolesnik (1976) for
advanced a magmatic origin. Du Toit (1918), Hall metasomatic corundum, is commonly accepted by
(1923), and Barth (1928) proposed desilication of a geologists (Simonet et al. 2008). Corundum formed
granite––pegmatitic melt at the contact with mafic during hydrothermal and/or bi-metasomatic
rocks, leading to enrichment in alumina of the melt processes developed at the contact of two
and the formation of corundum. Robb & Robb contrasting lithologies, i.e., granite or pegmatite,

59
 GIULIANI ET AL. –– GEM CORUNDUM

against mafic and ultramafic rocks, marble or gneiss
(Fig. 2-22). The bi-metasomatic reactions are related
to the infiltration of post-magmatic solutions, which
originated from the same granite or from other
magmatic or metamorphic events. The mechanism
of metasomatic desilication involves diffusion of
silica, from a pegmatite to an ultramafic rock which
plays the role of SiO2 sink, at a rate more rapid than
the diffusion of alumina. The Al:Si ratio increases in
the pegmatite vein, and metasomatic plagioclase––
corundum association in which the mass of alumina
per unit volume is much greater than in the initial
rock, may develop if the volume of rock decreases
at the same time, and underlined by the zone of
quartz dissolution. Another case of bi-metasomatic
metasomatism by fluid percolation is the intrusion
of mafic to ultramafic rocks into marble, such as
those described for the ruby from the Mahenge
region in Tanzania (Le Goff et al. 2008, Feneyrol et
al. 2013).
Desilicated pegmatite bodies with the mineral
assemblage oligoclase (75%), corundum (23%), and
2% other minerals (margarite, mica, sericite) are
called plumasite, a terminology derived from the
locality of Plumas in California, where this
association was first described (Lawson 1903).
Corundum deposits of this type are known from the
northeastern Transvaal (Robb & Robb 1986),
Yosemite National Park (Rose 1957), Kinyiki Hill
and Mangare in Kenya (Simonet 2000), and the
upper Allier Valley in France (Forestier & Lasnier
1969). In the Allier Valley plumasite is hosted by
spinel-bearing harzburgite. There, corundum is
associated (Fig. 2-23) with plagioclase (oligoclase––
andesine), spinel, biotite, apatite, zircon, uraninite,
pyrochlore and lower temperature minerals such as
andalusite, talc, diaspore, chlorite, prehnite, and
scapolite (Lasnier 1977). The sapphire crystals are
barrel-shaped and elongate along the c axis. They
are grey to blue, in some cases with a pronounced
asterism.
World-class gem deposits in desilicated
pegmatite bodies are described from the Umba
River (Solesbury 1967) and Kalalani (Seifert &
Hyrsl 1999) in Tanzania, at the Sumjam deposit in
Indian Kashmir (La Touche 1890, Atkinson &
Kothavala 1983), in southern Kenya with the
deposits of the Mangare area (Key & Ochieng 1991,
Mercier et al. 1999a, Simonet 2000), and from the
Russian Polar Ural Mountains (Spiridonov 1998,
Kievlenko 2003).
The famous blue sapphire from the States of
Jammu and Kashmir in northern India was
discovered in 1881 by peasants after a landslide.
This corundum deposit produced the blue sapphires
most prized worldwide for their gorgeous blue color
and velvety lustre due to the presence of layers of
microscopic liquid inclusions. Mallett (1882) and La
Touche (1890) described the deposit formed by the
small pit called the 'Old Mine'. The sapphire was
embedded in clay within an altered pegmatite. The
geological structure and history of the deposit is
poorly investigated because the area is politically
unstable and at high altitude (4600 m above sea
level).
The deposit is located in metamorphic
formations of Cambrian to Silurian age in the
Zanskar range, within the Paddar region (Lydekker
1883). The series (Fig. 2-24) comprises a succession
of marble, amphibolite, and garnet-graphite-biotite

FIG. 2-23. Mineralogical assemblages in corundum-bearing plumasite (after Lasnier 1977). The sapphire-bearing plumasite of
Treignac (Haut Allier, France) with the different stages of transformation of spinel. Prism of spinel surrounded by a corona
of blue sapphire (center) and a final transformation into corundum (left). On the right, presence of corundum altered by a
later retrograde phase composed of andalusite, diaspore and chlorite. The plagioclase is transformed in scapolite and
prehnite. Drawing from P. Brun (le Règne Minéral).

60
 GIULIANI ET AL. –– GEM CORUNDUM
FIG. 2-24. Geological cross-section of the Sumjam sapphire deposit, Kashmir (after Atkinson & Kothavala 1983).
and amphibole-bearing gneiss which has been
intruded by pegmatite (Atkinson & Kothavala
1983). The sapphire is associated with pockets or
lenses of metamorphic rocks formed of olivine, talc,
and spinel. The lenses range from 1 to 100 m long
and up to 30 m thick. They are enveloped by a green
aureole of tremolite, actinolite, and anthophyllite-
bearing rocks. Laterally, the lenses are surrounded
by garnet-bearing amphibolite, then amphibolite.
Pegmatite bodies are located at the contact between
the lenses and the amphibolite. They have been
affected by an alkaline metasomatism that provoked
dissolution of quartz. The mineralogical association
consists of plagioclase, mica, tourmaline, and
sapphire. The rims of the desilicated pegmatite are
composed of talc-biotite-carbonate and tourmaline-
bearing rocks (Peretti et al. 1990). The greatest
concentration of sapphire is in plumasite. Near the
surface, the veins are altered into kaolinite, which
was derived at depth from fresh plagioclase rich-
rocks. The sapphire is embedded in the plumasite
and sporadically in the tremolite-actinolite zone.
The sapphire crystals have a spindle shape, with
hexagonal dipyramids and are partially corroded.
Some crystals present small pinacoid faces that are
flattened following one of the a axes (Cesbron et al.
2002). The common color is pale blue to deep
cornflower blue, but other colored sapphires have
been observed, such as violet, green, and yellow.
Pink sapphire was recovered from the contact of the
graphite-biotite gneiss (Atkinson & Kothavala
1983). Hänni (1990) identified rutile, green and red-
brown tourmaline, pargasite, plagioclase, uraninite,
allanite, diopside, and zircon as inclusions in the
sapphire.
The velvety luster of the blue sapphire is caused
by minute two-phase (liquid and vapor) fluid
inclusions. Peretti et al. (1990) studied the primary
61
carbonic fluid inclusions trapped by the sapphire by
microthermometry. The pressure––temperature of the
fluid is estimated to have been 3.7 to 5.6 kbar and
680––700°C at the center of the crystal, 3.9 to 4.8
kbar and 590––600°C in the intermediate zone, and
2.9 to 3.1 kbar and around 500°C in the outer zone
(Fig. 2-7). This study showed the variability of the
P––T conditions of crystallization during the growth
of the crystals, suggesting either a slow growth or
three distinct stages of growth.
Alluvial ruby and sapphires were discovered
associated with the Umba River in Tanzania in
1960, and field exploration exposed the primary
deposits in the Umba and Kalalani serpentinite
massifs (Solesbury 1967; Seifert & Hyrsl 1999).
Mining ceased between about 1970 and 1980, but in
1989 an important discovery of 80 kg of transparent
reddish orange (called 'Tanzanian padparadscha')
and yellow sapphires stimulated new mining
activity. In 1994, a primary tsavorite (V-rich green
grossular) deposit was discovered in the
surrounding graphitic gneiss, and pyrope-almandine
deposits in the serpentinite.
The serpentinite massif is about 2 km long and
0.5 to 1 km wide, and surrounded by marble,
kyanite-sillimanite gneiss, and quartzite. Gem-
quality sapphire and ruby are confined to desilicated
pegmatite bodies that crosscut the serpentinite (Fig.
2-25A, B). They form vertical lenses, 5 to 10 m long
and 2 to 3 m thick. The pegmatite bodies pinch and
swell and the dimensions are quite variable. They
have coarse-grained texture and display meta-
somatic reaction zones at the contact with the
serpentinite. Two types of corundum-bearing veins
have been described (Fig. 2-25C): (1) veins with
calcic plagioclase, vermiculite-actinolite-chlorite,
and colored sapphire; and (2) veins with vermiculite
and orange and yellow-brown sapphire. In Kalalani,
 GIULIANI ET AL. –– GEM CORUNDUM

FIG. 2-25. The location and geology of the Kalalani gem corundum in Tanzania (modified after Seifert & Hyrsl 1999).
A, Location of the Kalalani and Umba primary corundum deposits. B, The gem corundum deposits are associated with
desilicated pegmatite bodies (plumasite) crosscutting serpentinite. C, Geological sketch map and cross-section of a gem
corundum deposit. The sapphire is contained in argillitic nodules in the desilicated pegmatite.
other major constituents are chlorite, spinel, and sapphire, and black in the ruby, is a common
kyanite. Tabular ruby was found within a desilicated feature. Seifert & Hyrsl (1999) demonstrated that
pegmatite associated with biotite. The inclusions desilicated pegmatite results from intense alkaline
and color range of reddish to orange sapphire from metasomatism of the pegmatite and the serpentinite
Umba and Kalalani are very similar to those of the at high fluid––rock ratio.
orange sapphire from Tunduru (Tanzania) and Ruby was discovered and mining initiated in
Chimwadzulu in Malawi (Henn & Milisenda 1997). the Mangare area of Kenya in 1973, but the mines
The sapphire crystals are tabular with pinacoids were closed during most of the 1970s and 1980s due
and prismatic hexagonal faces. Color zoning in the to litigation. Exploitation began anew in 1993––1994
form of a tube parallel to the c axis, colorless in blue and since then has provided a regular supply of

62
 GIULIANI ET AL. –– GEM CORUNDUM

facetable and cabochon material of high quality. In

2011 the production decreased and in 2012 the
Rockland mine (formerly the John Saul mine) was
in discontinuance of business, as a consequence of
the discovery and marketing of ruby from
Mozambique. In Mangare area the ruby contains
low iron and consequently exhibits an intense
fluorescence. The John Saul, Penny Lane and Hard
Rock deposits occur in serpentinite intercalated in
graphite-sillimanite gneiss (Mercier et al. 1999a,
Simonet 2000). In the Hard Rock mine, the contact
zone between the gneiss and the serpentinite is a
tectonic shear zone. The serpentinite is considered
to be an imbricate structure formed during the main
tectonic Pan-African event (700––600 Ma) of the
Mozambique belt. Corundum is found in two types
of structures (Fig. 2-26): (1) micaceous lenses and
pockets located at the contact between the
serpentinite and the gneiss along the shear zone.
They are usually composed of ruby ± spinel ±
sapphirine and mica, but in some cases of ruby,
phlogopite and magnesian chlorite; (2) veins that
crosscut only the serpentinite. Corundum is rare and
is associated with zoisite, plagioclase ± phlogopite ±
muscovite. These veins resemble plumasite.
Corundum formed by the following reaction
(Mercier et al. 1999a):
sapphirine + water ĺ
corundum + chlorite + spinel (1)
In the veins that crosscut the ultramafic rocks, the
corundum is associated with anorthite and zoisite.
The textures and the mineral associations suggested
the following reaction:
anorthite + water ĺ FIG. 2-26. Geological map of the Hard Rock mine in the
corundum + zoisite + silica (2) Mangare gem corundum mining district, Kenya (after
Mercier et al. 1999a). The serpentinite corresponds to
Thus, two hydrothermal alteration phenomena, an imbricate structure in the graphite-sillimanite-
hydration and desilication, are superposed on the bearing gneiss. Ruby is found either in lenses and
shear zone system. The conditions of pressure and pockets at the contact of the shear zone or in veins that
temperature for ruby formation are between 700–– crosscut only the serpentinite.
750°C and 8 to 10.5 kbar (granulite facies). These A special case of desilication of pegmatite in
P––T conditions contrast with those of the mafic and felsic gneiss is described for the ruby
surrounding gneiss (P = 650°C and 4.5 < P < 6.5 deposits from Karelia in Russia (Kievlenko 2003,
kbar, amphibolite facies; Fig. 2-27. In consequence, Terekhov 2007, Bindeman & Serebryakov 2011).
Mercier et al. (1999a) suggested that the ruby and The Belomorian polymetamorphic complex located
the ultramafic rocks are exotic. They correspond to between the Kola and Karelia Archean blocks
fragments of deeper crust brought up by thrust and underwent the 1.9––1.8 Ga metamorphism and
shear zone tectonics. Comparison of the regional intrusion of pegmatite. Ruby is hosted by
thermobarometric and mineralogical data of twenty plagioclase veins crosscutting corundum-bearing
deposits formed in ultramafic rocks in Kenya and kyanite-staurolite-garnet-biotite-hornblende gneiss
Tanzania show that they formed in the granulite and the overlying garnet amphibolite. The veins
facies and that they are associated with shear zones.

63
 GIULIANI ET AL. –– GEM CORUNDUM
range from several centimetres to 10 m thick and up
to 60 m long, parallel to the metamorphic foliation.
Corundum crystals have prismatic and bladed
shapes, 5 cm long and up to 3 cm in diameter; ruby
contains up to 9.4 wt.% Cr2O3. Metasomatism and
fluid––rock interaction with the gneiss caused
desilication of the pegmatite and transformed it into
plumasite with oligoclase-andesine, phlogopite,
tourmaline, zoisite, epidote and chlorite.
Phlogopitization of the border of the vein is
common. Low oxygen isotope ratio of minerals
including ruby is characteristic of this deposit with
the report of the lowest known į18O (––16 to ––27‰‰)
for terrestrial silicate minerals, oxides and rocks
(Bindeman et al. 2010). The highly depleted į18O
values are due to the circulation of meteoric glacial
subwaters in a rift zone at around 2.4 Ga which
affected the initial isotopic composition of the
protolith prior to ruby formation (Bindeman &
Serebryakov 2011).
64
FIG. 2-27. Pressure––temperature
conditions of the formation of gem
corundum and surrounding
metamorphic rocks in the Mangare
area, Kenya (after Mercier et al.
1999a). An: anorthite, Anth:
anthophyllite, Bt: biotite, Cd:
corundum, En: enstatite, Gt:
garnet, Kf: K-feldspar, Ky:
kyanite, Mg-Chl: magnesian
chlorite, Sil: sillimanite, Sp: spinel,
Spr: serpentinite, Qz: quartz, V:
H2O vapor, Zo: zoisite.
Now we will consider skarn-type deposits
where pegmatite and granite intruded marble, calc-
silicate rocks and Ca-bearing gneiss. In the
following examples, the mechanisms responsible for
corundum formation are quite similar to those
proposed for the genesis of corundum within
desilicated pegmatite bodies that intruded mafic and
ultramafic rocks. Every post-magmatic process
linked to the emplacement of granitic intrusions (or
equivalents) has a stage at which the solutions
became acid and, therefore, constitute a source of
strong reactions with their wall rocks. As the
activity of K, Na, and Al increases, these elements
enter into reactions with marble or dolomitic
marble, increasing the concentration of Ca and Mg
in solution. Such reactions produce feldspar, biotite,
and Ca-bearing minerals. The association of Ca-
bearing, usually Fe-rich silicate minerals (including
amphibole, pyroxene, garnet, epidote, and zoisite),
or Mg-rich silicate minerals (such as phlogopite,
 GIULIANI ET AL. –– GEM CORUNDUM

diopside, pargasite, and forsterite), defines the so- and tourmaline in a skarn-formed marble
called skarns. The surrounding marble is (Nissimboim & Harlow 2011). Trace element
transformed by exo-metamorphism i.e., exoskarn, compositions measured by LA––ICP––MS or by
but sometimes complex phenomena of recrystalliz- EPMA on ruby from different types of environment,
ation may affect the granite itself by endo- i.e., in marble, skarn, and alluvial deposits, show no
metamorphism i.e., endoskarn. B or Zr enrichment despite the skarn-related
Corundum-bearing desilicated pegmatite in paragenesis of some samples (Harlow & Bender
mafic rocks and marble are typical endoskarns. 2013). The metamorphic versus skarn-related source
Nevertheless, some authors believe, erroneously, of ruby cannot be discriminated and the Mogok
that all the corundum deposits hosted in marble Stone Tract rubies record rather metamorphic––
belongs to the endoskarn type (Kievlenko 2003). metasomatic processing.
The metamorphic formations that contain deposits The Bakamuna exoskarn skarn deposit at
of this type, such as in Myanmar (Iyer 1953, Harlow Elahera in Sri Lanka (Fig. 2-28) was described by
et al. 2006, Kyaw Thu 2007, Themelis 2008) or Silva & Siriwardena (1988). The skarn body is 35 m
Tajikistan (Terekhov et al. 1999), have been long, 12 m thick and occurs in a calcite-dolomite
subjected to tectonomagmatic activity, but the
effective participation of the magma is not
constrained by isotopic studies. In consequence, the
marble deposits cannot be classified as endoskarn
types and further studies are necessary to
characterize them completely.
One of the more enigmatic regions is the
Mogok Stone Tract in Myanmar. The Mogok
metamorphic belt was intruded by syenitic to
granitic magma in Cretaceous and Eocene times
accompanied by subsequent metamorphism. Kyan
Thu (2007) defined four ages for the emplacement
of magmatic rocks based on radiometric dates of
zircon by the U––Pb method: (1) 129 ±8.2 Ma (Early
Cretaceous) for augite-biotite granite; (2) 32 ±1 Ma
(Early Oligocene) for leucogranite; (3) 25 Ma (late
Oligocene) for foliated syenite; and (4) 16 ±5 Ma
(Middle Miocene) for painite-bearing skarn formed
at the contact leucogranite––marble. Khin Zaw et al.
(2008) obtained an age of 31––32 Ma for a zircon
inclusion in the Mogok ruby by the LA––ICP––MS
technique. Garnier et al. (2004b) obtained 40Ar/39Ar
ages at 18.7 ±0.2 to 17.1 ±0.2 Ma on phlogopite
syngenetic with metamorphic ruby. Themelis (2008)
showed that the diversity of the paragenesis
associated with primary ruby and sapphire deposits
reflected multiple geological origins either with
FIG. 2-28. Simplified geological map of Sri Lanka
intrusions of granitoid rocks or regional (modified after Kriegsman 1995) with the corundum
metamorphism. The assemblage of ruby, calcite, localities in their geological formations (after
graphite, muscovite and pyrite is common, but Dissayanake & Chandrajith 1999, Dissanayake et al.
adjacent silicate minerals typical of skarn and 2000). Main mining districts and mines of Sri Lanka:
syenitic rocks, such as cancrinite, scapolite, sodalite, 1, Polonnaruwa; 2, Nalanda; 3, Elahera; 4, Kurunegala;
nepheline, sodalite, datolite, and painite 5, Rangala; 6, Kandy; 7, Hanguranketa; 8, Nilgala; 9,
(CaZrBAl9O18), are also found e.g., such as at Wet Avissawella; 10, Hatton; 11, Nuwara Eliya; 12,
Loo (Harlow et al. 2006, Harlow & Bender 2013). Passara; 13, Panadura-Horana; 14, Ratnapura; 15,
The radiometric data suggest that the Oligocene-age Haputale; 16, Buttala; 17, Alutgama; 18, Rakwana; 19,
Timbolketiya; 20, Kataragama; 21, Ambalangoda; 22,
ruby grew either as disseminated crystals in marble
Morawaka; 23, Ambalantota; 24, Galle; 25, Matara.
(Khin Zaw et al. 2008) or as overgrowths on painite

65
 GIULIANI ET AL. –– GEM CORUNDUM

marble. The skarn mineralization consists of three

different mineralogically distinct zones (Fig.
2-29A): (1) the center zone is a coarse-grained
orthoclase-quartz-bearing pegmatite; (2) the middle
zone contains fine-grained spinel-scapolite
aggregates with disseminations of corundum and
phlogopite; and (3) the outer zone has a porphyritic
texture made of large crystals of corundum and
spinel. The substitution of corundum by spinel is
common. The intermediate and outer zones are
crosscut by a network of veinlets forming lenses up
to several centimetres wide filled with spinel,
magnesite, and phlogopite. The vein formation is
associated with hydraulic fracturing, i.e., a fluid
overpressure in the rock. The contact with the
marble (Fig. 2-29B) shows a fringe of phlogopite
and spinel, 10 to 20 cm thick, with 70% of spinel by
volume, and a border where marble recrystallized
into coarse-grained calcite. Gem corundum is
represented by light greenish blue and blue
sapphire, with crystals up to 1 cm.
According to Silva & Siriwardena (1988), the
Bakamuna skarn deposit formed by the interaction
of pegmatitic fluids with dolomitic marble. The
pegmatite is not desilicated and quartz is always
present. Thus, the sapphire deposit is an exo-skarn
deposit. Percolation of the fluid caused the
metasomatic alterations. Three stages of fluid––rock
interaction have been proposed:
Fluid 1 + marble o
scapolite + corundum + magnesite + CO2 (3)
magnesite + corundumo spinel + CO2 (4)
Fluid 1 + magnesite + spinel + scapolite o FIG. 2-29. The Bakamuna exoskarn skarn deposit at
phlogopite + Fluid 2 (5) Elahera in Sri Lanka (after Silva & Sirawardena,
1988). The skarn is developed around the pegmatite
Fluid 2, enriched in alumina, also reacted with the that intruded the marble. A, Schematic distribution of
marble following reaction (3), and resulted in the the different mineral assemblages in the skarn zones:
crystallization of large quantities of corundum. The (1) the center zone is a coarse-grained orthoclase-
low Mg content of the marble allowed the quartz-bearing pegmatite; (2) the middle zone contains
preservation of corundum whereas it was fine-grained spinel––scapolite aggregates with
transformed into spinel following reaction (4). corundum and phlogopite, and (3) the outer zone has a
In 1952, the French geologist Hibon reported porphyritic texture made of large crystals of corundum
small eluvial sapphire grains associated with and spinel. B, Details of the outer zone with the
concentrations of corundum and spinel at the contact of
hibonite south of the village of Andranondambo in
marble.
the Tranomaro area in Madagascar. The first deposit
was discovered at Esiva, near Tranomaro village in A number of studies have been published on the
1991 (Fig. 2-30). News of the discovery spread origin of the sapphire. Kiefert et al. (1996) com-
quickly, and by 1996 around 10,000 miners were pared the Andranondambo deposits to the famous
estimated to be working in pits up to 15 m deep and Kashmir sapphire desilicated pegmatite deposit,
50 to 80 cm wide, at Andranondambo, Antirimena, Milisenda & Henn (1996) advocated a high-grade
Analalava, and Andranomitrohy (an area of more granulite-facies metamorphism for sapphire
than 7000 km2). formation, and Rakotondrazafy et al. (1996) and

66
 GIULIANI ET AL. –– GEM CORUNDUM
FIG. 2-30. Geological map of the Tranomaro area with the
location of the corundum-hibonite skarn deposits in
Madagascar (after Rakotondrazafy et al. 2008).
Gübelin & Peretti (1997) suggested that the sapphire
formed as a result of various metasomatic skarn
stages.
The sapphire deposits occur in the high-grade
granulite facies of the Proterozoic Tranomaro
Group, composed of metasedimentary rocks
(metapelite, calc-silicate rock, and marble) inter-
layered with leucocratic gneiss (Rakotondrazafy et
al. 1996). During granulite-facies metamorphism
and syn-metamorphic emplacement of the Anosyan
charnockite and granite, marble and calc-silicate
gneiss were transformed into skarns called the 'calc-
magnesian complex' (Moine et al. 1985). This
consists of impure calcitic marble, diopsidite with
variable amounts of scapolite, spinel, thorianite, and
pargasite, and peraluminous rocks made of
plagioclase and/or scapolite with spinel, thorianite,
hibonite (CaAl12O19), and/or blue to pink corundum.
Clinopyroxenite commonly occurs at the contact
between marble and granitic or charnockitic
67
intrusions from the Anosyan magmatism (Fig. 2-30)
and a metasomatic skarn origin is proposed by
Rakotondrazafy et al. (1996). Three stages of
crystallization in the skarns have been defined (Fig.
2-31). In the first stage (metasomatism at T a 850°C
and P a 5 kbar), Ca-rich hyperaluminous pods of
meionite, spinel, thorianite, and corundum
crystallized in a titanite-bearing matrix consisting of
scapolite and aluminous diopside. Corundum is
found also in the diopsidite at the contact with the
Ca-rich pods. U––Pb dating on zircon from a
diopsidite gave an age of 565 r10 Ma (Andriamaro-
fahatra & de La Boisse 1986), which is in
agreement with Pan-African ages (540––580 Ma)
obtained for the granulite-facies metamorphism and
the syn-metamorphic emplacement of the Anosyan
charnockite and granite (Paquette et al. 1994).
In the second stage (metasomatism T a 800°C
and P a 3––3.5 kbar), diopside was partially
transformed into F-rich pargasite and most calcian
scapolite went into anorthite + calcite. Thorianite
crystallized with F-rich phlogopite and hibonite at
the expense of corundum and spinel.
In the third stage (retrograde amphibolite
metamorphism at T a 500°C and P a 2 kbar), lenses
of phlogopite associated with calcite, diopside and
anhydrite, and late-stage REE-rich calcite veins with
zircon, titanite, and urano-thorianite crosscut the
'calc-magnesian complex'. U––Pb dating of zircon
from a metasomatic calcite vein gave ages of 516
r10 Ma (Andriamarofahatra & de La Boisse 1986)
and 523 r5 Ma (Paquette et al. 1994), which
correspond to the latest Pan-African event in the
area. At this late stage, blue gem sapphire from the
Andronandambo area crystallized in K-feldspar
veins crosscutting marble and diopsidite at T a
500°C and P a 2 kb (Rakotondrazafy et al. 2008).
The veins are vertical with centimetre to decimetre
width. Sapphire is associated with K-feldspar,
F-apatite, calcite, and phlogopite. The common
crystalline forms of sapphire are the dipyramids n
{22.3}and z {22.1} and the basal pinacoid c {00.1};
the second-order prism a {11.0} and the
rhombohedron r {10.1} are also present (Schwarz et
al. 1996). Color zoning is very pronounced with
dark blue or dark brownish blue areas delineated by
faces parallel to the basal pinacoid, the dipyramids n
and z.
At the border of the veins, marble is
feldspathized and the stability of the K-feldspar-
corundum-calcite assemblage is controlled by the
equilibrium equations:
 GIULIANI ET AL. –– GEM CORUNDUM
muscovite œ
K-feldspar + corundum + water (6)
anorthite + CO2 œ
calcite + corundum + H2O (7)
Fluid inclusions in different minerals from
gneiss, skarn, and sapphire-bearing vein are CO2-
rich (Ramambazafy et al. 1998). Fluids with high
PCO2 (XCO2 > 0.8 mol.%) and low PH2O are in
equilibrium with the mineral assemblages. The C
and O isotopic composition of Tranomaro marble
has shown the crustal origin of these fluids and their
probable relation with granitic magmatism
(Boulvais et al. 1998). The infiltrated marble and
metasomatic diopsidite do not record any
contribution from a crustal C source and the
contribution of fluid infiltration is insignificant. The
formation of the skarn in marble, however, results
from the transport of Si, Mg, Th, U, Zr and REE by
the metasomatic fluid. CO2-rich fluids are not a
good candidate for the mobilization and transport of
such elements which are rather immobile
(Rakotondrazafy et al. 2008). At high PCO2, the
68
FIG. 2-31. The U––Th-corundum skarn
deposits from the granulite facies
of the Tranomaro area (modified
after Rakotondrazafy et al. 1996).
A, Al––(Fe+Mg)––Ca showing the
distribution of the different
assemblages of the calc-magnesian
and skarn rocks from stages I and
II. B, The three stages of skarn
formation with stage I meta-
somatism (leucocratic segregation
in clinopyroxenite; T ~ 850°C, P =
5kb), stage II (formation of
hibonite and anorthite + calcite
assemblages; T ~ 800°C, P = 3.3.5
kb), and stage III (retrograde
amphibolite facies and fracturing
stage with REE-bearing calcite
veins and gem blue sapphire––K-
feldspar bearing veins; T = 500°C,
P = 2 kb).
solubility of silica is low and a H2O––NaCl-rich fluid
may possibly transport the metals (Ramambazafy et
al. 1998). Unmixing would produce a CO2-rich
phase in equilibrium with a H2O––NaCl brine (Gibert
et al. 1998). With such a high CO2 concentration in
the fluid, the CO2-rich phase (XCO2 > 0.8 mole%; P
= 5 kb and T = 600°C) would have to coexist with
NaCl salt (Shmulovich & Graham 1999).
Sapphire from the Andranondambo district
yielded three sets of į18O values (Giuliani et al.
2007b): (1) 3.9‰‰ for a pink sapphire hosted in a
pyroxenite (diopsidite) from stage 1 of skarn
metasomatism; (2) 10.1 < į18O < 10.7‰‰ for blue
and pink sapphire hosted by scapolitite and marble
from stage 1. The important isotopic variation for
sapphire of stage 1 is due to the variability in
chemistry of the pre-metamorphic host rock. During
stage 2, hibonite crystallized at the expense of
corundum and its į18O of 10.6‰‰ falls within the
isotopic range defined for corundum of stage 2. It
confirms that in a closed system and at high
temperature (T ~ 800°C), the oxygen isotopic
composition of a protolith or a mineral phase can
 GIULIANI ET AL. –– GEM CORUNDUM
control the final į18O of corundum; and (3) 14.0 <
į18O < 15.6 (mean į18O = 14.8 r0.6‰‰; n = 4) for
blue gem sapphire hosted in K-feldspar veins from
stage 3. The isotopic range overlaps the range
defined worldwide for sapphire hosted in desilicated
pegmatite within marble (14.0 < į18O < 16.4 ‰‰;
Giuliani et al. 2009), and the oxygen isotopic
composition of sapphire is buffered by the host
rock. The important isotopic variation for sapphire
between stages 1 and 3 might be related to the large
isotopic variation found in į18O of marble between
6.5 and 19‰‰ (Boulvais et al. 1998). The lowest
į18O-values are found in dolomitic marble whereas
calcic variety has higher į18O between 13.5 and
19‰‰.
Metasomatic alteration by fluid percolation
related to the emplacement of granitic magma,
including desilication, can also affect rocks such as
gneiss or quartzofeldspathic and calc-silicate rocks
(Lecheminant et al. 2004, 2005, Simonet et al.
2008, Zwaan & Zoysa 2008, Liu Shang-I & Zoysa
2011, Dharmaratne et al. 2012). The primary
sapphire deposit discovered in 2012 at
Thammannawa, near Kataragama in southeastern
Sri Lanka, is an example of the effect of the
circulation of pegmatitic fluid in gneiss
(Dharmaratne et al. 2012). The garnetiferous quartz-
feldspar gneiss and charnockitic biotite gneiss were
intruded by various granitoid and pegmatite bodies.
The pegmatite consists of quartz-free coarse-grained
feldspar and mica surrounded by a micaceous layer
which hosts blue sapphire. The metasomatic process
affected both pegmatite and gneiss. The
mineralization extended generally in the foliation
direction and measured about 60 cm thick. The
crystals of sapphire display a combination of
hexagonal bipyramids with rhombohedral and basal
pinacoids, flat faces, sharp edges, and a vitreous
lustre. They have a good transparency and pure
color with cut gems up to 20 ct. The inclusions are
rutile, uraninite, graphite, zircon, and spinel
(Pardieu et al. 2012). Such metasomatic deposits are
also described in other areas of Sri Lanka
(Hapuarachchi 1989, Fernando et al. 2001).
The Kimmirut sapphire occurrence (Fig. 2-1)
was discovered by Seemeega and Nowdla Aqpik in
2002 (Lecheminant et al. 2004). The showing is
located approximately 1.5 km southwest of
Kimmirut (formerly Lake Harbour), near the south
coast of Baffin Island, Nunavut, Canada
(62°49.7´N, 69°53´W). The area also hosts other
gem minerals in complexly deformed, high-grade
metamorphic rocks. These include diopside,
69
pargasite, garnet, spinel, scapolite, tourmaline,
apatite, zircon, moonstone, and lapis lazuli. The
continental collision setting of southern Baffin is
analogous to gem-producing areas within the India––
Asia collision zone, i.e., from Afghanistan to
Vietnam.
Most of the sapphire crystals in Kimmirut are
deep blue in color but yellow, colorless, and light
blue crystals have been found. The sapphire is
hosted by calc-silicate lenses in a marble unit of the
metasedimentary Lake Harbour Group, near a major
terrane boundary within the Paleoproterozoic Trans-
Hudson Orogen (Lecheminant et al. 2004, 2005).
At the main Beluga showing the sapphire crystals
occur with plagioclase, clinopyroxene, phlogopite,
muscovite, calcite, graphite, nepheline, and
scapolite. Apatite, rutile, titanite, and zircon are
common in the host rock, and rare phases include
chlorite, tourmaline (dravite), monazite, sanbornite
(BaSi2O5), thorianite, and uraninite. The rocks in the
Bowhead showing, 170 m south-southwest of the
Beluga showing, appear to be less altered.
Petrographic studies suggest that this diverse
mineral suite formed during retrograde
metamorphism accompanied by infiltration of CO2-
bearing fluids. Syenitic or ijolitic magmas may have
played a role in initial formation of the calc-silicate
lenses.
The ruby and pink sapphire at the Greyson and
Kitwalo mines in the Mahenge mining district in
Tanzania are found in marble crosscut by mafic
dykes (Le Goff et al. 2008 in Feneyrol et al. 2013).
The crystallization of corundum is assisted by
chemical exchanges through the percolation of
fluids along the contact between the dyke and the
marble. Ruby and pink sapphire are located in
metasomatic pargasite-phlogopite zones formed
along the contact zones. Ruby is associated with
phlogopite, spinel, pargasite, sapphirine, rutile, Mg-
chlorite and pyrite. The formation of sapphirine
originates from the destabilization of corundum-
spinel-Mg-chlorite following the reaction:
6 corundum + 2 spinel + Mg-chlorite ĺ
2 sapphirine + 4H2O (8)
Metamorphic deposits associated with biotitite and
cordieritite in gneiss: the deposits found in
feldspathic gneiss and cordieritite represent new
types of metamorphic gem corundum deposits in
Madagascar: sapphire-bearing biotite schist in
feldspathic gneiss from Sahambano, Zazafotsy, and
Ionaivo deposits (Giuliani et al. 2007a, Uher et al.
 GIULIANI ET AL. –– GEM CORUNDUM

2012), and ruby and polychrome sapphire in

cordieritite intercalated within charnockite at
Ambatomena and Iankaroka deposits (Giuliani et al.
2007b, Andriamamonjy et al. 2013). Both types of
deposits are within shear zones and corundum is
linked to fluid circulation through channels such as
fractures, foliation planes, and lithological contacts.
The Sahambano deposit is located 30 km east
of Ihosy (Fig. 2-32). The deposit was discovered in
1999 and exploited sporadically. The sapphire
crystals are multicolored, but rarely of gem quality
and treatment is necessary to improve color and
transparency. On average, 100 kg of corundum
picked from washed material contains 24 kg of
colored sapphires with 1 kg of translucent crystals,
of which 50 g would be of gem quality. The division
of the color is 15% brown to orange, 5% orange to
pink, 40% pink to purple, 5% purple to fuchsia, and
35% violet to blue.
The deposit occurs in the Tranomaro Group,
characterized by a high abundance of calcic and
magnesian paragneiss and leptynite. The deposit sits
in the Ranotsara fault zone, a 30 km wide and 300
km long steep structure that had a long history of
deformation and high temperature metamorphism
dated between 600 and 500 Ma (Collins & Windley
2002). 40Ar/39Ar dating of biotite from a sapphire-
bearing biotite schist gave a minimum age of
formation at 492 r5 Ma (Giuliani et al. 2007a).
Mylonitization and dextral shears are common in
the Sahambano area. The sapphire occurs in FIG. 2-32. Structural and lithological sketch map of
feldspathic gneiss lenses intercalated within southeast Madagascar with the location of the
leptynite at Dominique, Nono, Momo, Jeanne d'Arc, corundum deposits of mixed origins (modified after
Martelat et al. 2000). Corundum deposits as 4:
and Ambinda Sud pits. Shearing was accompanied
Ambinda (Betroka); 12: Miarinarivo, 13: Zazafotsy,
by the opening of fissures and fluid circulation, 14: Sakalalina, 15: Ambinda (Ihosy), 16: Sahambano,
which resulted in the biotitization of the host rock. 18: Vohidava, 19: Iankaroka, 20: Ambatomena, 21:
Sapphire occurs in biotitite, which also contains Ianapera, 22: Fotadrevo, 23: Anavoha, 24: Maniry, 25:
sillimanite and spinel, and in gneiss composed of Gogogogo, 26: Vohitany, 27: Ejeda, 28: Ilakaka, 29:
K-feldspar, biotite, sillimanite, spinel, sapphirine, Sakaraha, 30: Andranondambo, 31: Sakeny. Major
garnet, albite, and sapphire. Sapphire formed during shear zones referred as A: Ampanihy, B: Beraketa, C:
the prograde metamorphism at T ~ 650°C and P ~ 5 Ranotsara fault zone, D: shear zone of the Phanerozoic
kbar according to the reaction (Ralantoarison 2006): cover. Minor shear zones referred as (a) to (h). The
Pressure (kbar) and Temperature (°C) of
3 hercynite + K-feldspar + H2O o metamorphism are from Moine et al. (1985),
3 corundum + annite (9) Ackermand et al. (1989) and Nicollet (1990).

The size of the crystals varies from 1 mm to 5 cm.
Sapphires display different colors according to their
Cr and Fe contents: colorless, grey, greenish grey,
orange, blue, dark pink, purple, brown, pink, and
red to fuchsia. All crystals are euhedral and exhibit
either short or long prismatic habits, which are often
associated with the rhombohedron {10.1}, the
hexagonal prism {10.0} or {11.0}, and the basal
pinacoid {00.1}. Laminar habits are characterized
by well-developed pinacoids, and cylinder habits are
formed by hexagonal dipyramids associated with
pinacoid {00.1} and/or hexagonal prism. Solid
inclusions in sapphire are K-feldspar, zircon, barite,
spinel, cheralite, sillimanite, diaspore, albite, and
pyrite.
The sapphire is contained in metasomatic zones

70
 GIULIANI ET AL. –– GEM CORUNDUM
and the peraluminous gneiss supplied Al and the
chromophore elements (Cr, Fe, and Ti) necessary
for sapphire coloration (Fig. 2-33). The distribution
of the color of the sapphire is controlled by
lithology: colorless to blue sapphires are found in
the biotitite zone developed from feldspathic gneiss,
green to brown and greenish sapphires are in the
sillimanite-bearing feldspathic gneiss, and finally
red to fuchsia to pink and pinky orange
sapphires are located in the sapphirine-bearing
feldspathic gneiss. The other colored crystals are
distributed randomly at the interface of biotitite
and biotitized sapphirine-bearing feldspathic
gneiss.
The Zazafotsy deposit, also called
"Amboarohy" (Pezzotta 2005), is located 35 km
northeast of Ihosy on National Road 7 (Fig. 2-32).
The sapphire occurrence was discovered in 1950
and exploitation by local miners began in 1989. The
exploitation was sporadic until 2003, when it started
again producing very beautiful euhedral sapphire
crystals. The majority of the sapphires are not of
gem quality and heat treatment is necessary to
improve their transparency and color.
The deposit is located in the Itremo Group
which is mainly composed of garnet-sillimanite-
cordierite leptynite and amphibole-clinopyroxene
gneiss with minor intercalations of quartzite and
impure limestone. The sapphire deposit lies in the
Zazafotsy shear zone system, also linked to the Pan-
71
African tectono-metamorphic event (Martelat et al.
2000). The 40Ar/39Ar age at 494 r5 Ma obtained
from a biotite crystal associated with sapphire
confirmed that the mineralizing episode was the
latest Pan-African event in the area (Giuliani et al.
2007b).
Like at Sahambano, the mineralization occurs
in several lenses of feldspathic gneiss intercalated
within garnet-bearing leptynite and affected by fluid
circulation in shear zone fractures (Andriamamonjy
2006). The inner zone of the lens consists of
almandine and sapphire up to 10 cm associated with
biotite, plagioclase, spinel, and K-feldspar formed
around sapphire and garnet (Plate 1A). The outer
zone is biotite schist with biotite, sapphire, spinel,
and very few crystals of grandidierite (boro-
aluminosilicate of Fe and Mg, (Mg,Fe2+)Al3(BO3)
(SiO4)O2) which passed into biotitized feldspathic
gneiss. In one lens, the outer zone consists of fine-
grained metasomatic alternation of biotitite and
black tourmalinite developed on a 20 cm-wide scale.
In the same area, apatite and beryl are found in
pegmatite veins.
All of the sapphire crystals are euhedral and, as
at Sahambano, exhibit either short or long prismatic
habits associated with the hexagonal prism and the
rhombohedron terminated by basal pinacoid.
Mineral inclusions found in sapphire are zircon,
K-feldspar, plagioclase, sillimanite, spinel, and
biotite. The sapphire occurs in different colors
FIG. 2-33. Schematic geological section
of the Momo trench in the
Sahambano sapphire deposit
(modified after Ralantoarison 2006).
The sapphire mineralization is
contained in biotitized feldspathic
gneiss and sapphire-bearing
feldspathic gneiss. The respective
contents in Al, Mg, Fe, Ti (in wt.%)
and in Cr (in ppm) are reported for
each different protolith and the
metasomatite, i.e., biotitite. The
colored sapphire distribution is
reported for the different zones (br,
brown; bl, blue; bg, blue-green; cl,
colorless; p, pink; o, orange; f,
fuschia; r, red; pu, purple.
 GIULIANI ET AL. –– GEM CORUNDUM
including dark blue, light blue, grey blue, fuchsia,
orange, pink, violet, mauve, and brown.
Deposits in cordieritite include the Iankaroka
occurrence, which was reported in 1984––85, and
described by Salerno (1992). It is located 35 km
south of the city of Betroka (Fig. 2-32) in the
province of Toliara. The deposit is characterized by
polychrome sapphire displaying distinct color
bands. When observed in a plane parallel to the c
axis, the crystal is uniformly pinkish to purple, but
in a direction perpendicular to the c axis thin layers
of green blue, orange, brown, and pink are visible
(Koivula et al. 1992). The size of the crystals varies
between 1 to 10 mm. Euhedral crystals are elongate
to tabular hexagonal prisms and bipyramids. The
sapphire is found in a cordieritite lens, ~ 7 m long
and 4 m wide, intercalated concordantly within
leptynitic biotite-cordierite-bearing gneiss of the
Androyan series. The cordieritite is affected by
shearing; on its border this results in the formation
of a biotitite developed on the gneiss, and in the
cordieritite in the development of sapphire-bearing
fissures. The cordieritite is composed of phlogopite,
cordierite, plagioclase, green tourmaline, chlorite,
pyrite, spinel, and sillimanite.
The Ambatomena ruby deposit, located 10 km
northeast of the city of Isoanala (Fig. 2-32), was
exploited by a private company from 2000 to 2001.
The rubies were of good quality consisting of
euhedral prismatic crystals up to 3 cm long and 1 to
2 cm in diameter. The deposit occurs in the
Androyan metamorphic series composed of
paragneiss, orthogneiss, marble, granite, clino-
pyroxenite, and quartzite (Andriamamonjy 2010).
The ruby is contained in cordieritite layers or lenses
intercalated within biotite-cordierite-sillimanite-
bearing charnockite. The mineralized zone has
suffered intense metasomatism, transforming
pegmatite veins into plagioclasite, and in the
formation of corundum-free phlogopitite and
sapphirine-anorthite-phlogopite-bearing rocks. The
ruby occurs in a cordieritite composed of cordierite,
rutile, K-feldspar, sapphirine, phlogopite ± diopside.
Ruby crystals exhibit a spinel and sapphirine
coronitic texture. Spinel results from the
destabilization of ruby during the retrograde phase,
and in some cases ruby is totally pseudomorphosed
into spinel.
Metamorphic deposits associated with marble: the
ruby and pink sapphire deposits hosted by meta-
pure or impure limestone are of two types: (1) in
marble where the corundum crystallized as a result
72
of retrograde isochemical reactions mainly in a
closed system such as the ruby occurring as
disseminated crystals in marble from central and
southeast Asia (Garnier et al. 2008); and (2) in
impure marble containing gneiss and silicate layers
where ruby crystallized at the peak of prograde
metamorphism such as at Revelstoke in Canada
(Dzikowski 2013, Dzikowski et al. 2010, 2013) and
Morogoro in Tanzania (Le Goff et al. 2008).
The first type of marble deposit forms the main
sources for excellent quality ruby with intense color
('pigeon blood') and high transparency in marble-
hosted ruby deposits from central and southeast
Asia (Fig. 2-9). These types of occurrences are also
known in North America, Europe, and Africa: in
Sussex county, New Jersey, USA (Dunn & Frondel
1990), at Mercus and Arignac in Ariège, France
(Lacroix 1890), at the vicinity of Xanthi in Greece
(Hughes 1997), at Prilep in Macedonia (Hunstiger
1990), at Campolungo in Switzerland (Hochleitner
1998), and in the Urals (Kissin 1994).
These deposits share many common geological,
structural and mineralogical features (Garnier et al.
2008). They are hosted by metamorphosed platform
carbonate assemblages associated generally with
intercalations of garnet-biotite-sillimanite- or
biotite-kyanite-bearing schist or gneiss (Kievlenko
2003). The series commonly contain alternations of
quartzite and amphibolite. Dikes of granite and/or
pegmatite intrude these metamorphosed sedimentary
rocks, but the ruby mineralization is not directly
linked with granitoid bodies, as observed for
desilicated pegmatites in other protoliths. The
mineralization is generally stratiform, i.e.,
conformable with the bedding of the marble, and
occasionally disseminated within a particular level
in the marble. The mineralized zones are between
0.5 and 10 m thick. A 'ruby zone' is formed by a
succession of benches of centimetre- to metre-scale
marble, where ruby is located in veinlets, gash-
veins, lenses or disseminations in the carbonate
gangue. The estimated grade of the Nangimali
deposit in Azad Kashmir (exploited by the
AKMDC, Azad Kashmir Mineral and Industrial
Development Corporation) was estimated at 11 g/m3
from a pilot study on the economic zone carried out
over three years (Malik 1994, Pêcher et al. 2002).
In general the ruby-bearing marble is composed
of calcite and dolomite. It contains the oxide
minerals spinel and corundum, and diopside,
phlogopite, garnet, chlorite, margarite, tremolite,
pargasite, edenite, uvite, and forsterite. Graphite is
sometimes associated with these minerals as in
 GIULIANI ET AL. –– GEM CORUNDUM
deposits of Afghanistan, Pakistan, Myanmar, Nepal,
and Vietnam. Other minerals include anorthite,
anhydrite, aspidolite, titanite, fuchsite, scapolite,
zoisite, K-feldspar, epidote, pyrite, and pyrrhotite
(Iyer 1953, Harding & Scarratt 1986, Kissin 1994,
Garnier et al. 2004c).
The most common crystalline forms include the
hexagonal prism or the hexagonal dipyramid
(Hughes 1990, Peretti et al. 1995, Smith et al. 1997,
Smith 1998, Cesbron et al. 2002). Ruby from
Jegdalek is generally tabular and formed by the
hexagonal prism a {11.0} and the pinacoid c {00.1}
and the positive rhombohedron {10.1}. Ruby from
Mogok is tabular and prismatic with a development
of the rhombohedron faces (Fig. 2-34). Ruby from
Mong Hsu has several hexagonal dipyramids
associated with the pinacoid and the hexagonal
prism a (Fig. 2-34).
In general the color of ruby and sapphire from
marble is variable: red to violet for Tanzanian
(Hänni & Schmetzer 1991) and Nepali (Smith et al.
1997); red, pink, brown, yellow, blue, violet or
colorless for corundum from the Urals (Kissin
1994). Additionally, ruby from Mong Hsu
(Myanmar) shows unusual features such as a blue
sapphire core and multiple zoning (Fig. 2-35) from
ruby to violet sapphire in the outer zones of the
crystal (Peretti et al. 1995). The rubies from Mogok
appear to glow red or are like 'pigeon blood' and
they are among the most expensive in the world for
their top quality.
The deposits occur (Fig. 2-9) in Afghanistan,
Tajikistan, Pakistan, Azad-Kashmir, Myanmar,
FIG. 2-34. Crystal habits of ruby from Mong Hsu and Mogok, Myanmar (after Smith & Surdez 1994, Hughes 1997).
73
Nepal, northern and central Vietnam, and southern
China (Hughes 1997). The mines in Afghanistan are
among the oldest in the world and were already
exploited seven hundred years ago (Rossovskiy
1980, Hughes 1997, Bowersox & Chamberlain
1995, Bowersox et al. 2000, Cesbron et al. 2002).
Ruby deposits from the Hunza Valley in Pakistan
were discovered in the late 1970s during the
building of the Karakorum Highway which links
Pakistan with China (Piat 1974, Okrush et al. 1976,
Gübelin 1982, Kazmi & O'Donogue 1990, Garnier
2003). The deposit from Nangimali in Azad-
Kashmir was discovered in 1979 by the AKMDC
mining society (Malik 1994), and the geology and
the geochemistry of the deposit was studied by
Pêcher et al. (2002). The Tajik ruby deposits remain
poorly known and were first reported by Henn &
Bank (1990). Kievlenko (2003) reported geological
studies carried out by Russian geologists and Smith
(1998) described the standard gemological
properties and internal features of the Tajik ruby.
The first report of marble-hosted ruby deposits from
Nepal was published by Bassett (1984), followed by
Harding & Scarratt (1986), and the mineralogy was
studied by Smith et al. (1997). The Mogok ruby
deposits in Myanmar have been exploited since the
sixth century (Chhibber 1934, Gübelin 1965, Kane
& Kammerling 1992, Kammerling et al. 1994),
whereas the Mong Hsu deposits were first reported
in 1991 (Hlaing 1991, Peretti et al. 1995). In
northern Vietnam, a peasant discovered the first
ruby at Luc Yen in 1983 and exploitation of the
occurrences began in 1988 (Kane et al. 1991,
 GIULIANI ET AL. –– GEM CORUNDUM
Garnier 2003, Pham et al. 2004, Nguyen et al. 2011,
Le et al. 2012). Galibert & Hughes (1995) reported
that ruby-bearing marble was discovered in Yunnan
province, China, at the beginning of the 1980s.
Detailed characteristics of gems from the Ailoshan
structural belt were given by Zhang et al. (2003).
Marble-hosted ruby deposits at Jegdalek in
Afghanistan, at Nangimali in Azad-Kashmir, at the
Hunza valley in Pakistan), at Chumar and Ruyil in
Nepal, at Mogok and Mong Hsu in Myanmar), and
at Luc Yen-Yen Bai, and Quy Chau in Vietnam,
share many common structural, mineralogical and
geochronological features. To begin with, they all
occur in metamorphic blocks that were affected by
major tectonic events during the Cenozoic Indo-
Asian collision (Fig. 2-9). The Jegdalek deposit is
located in the Western Nuristan Block, in the Indus
suture zone. The ruby-bearing marble is underlain
by metamorphic basement of presumed Precambrian
age (Rossovskiy et al. 1982) intruded by Oligocene
(34––26 Ma) plutonic units that define the southern
part of an axial batholith. The Nangimali deposit
lies in the High Crystalline Himalaya, in the
Southern part of Nanga Parbat. It is located within a
syncline formed during an upper Cretaceous to
Miocene Himalayan tectono-metamorphic event
(Pêcher et al. 2002). The Chumar and Ruyil
deposits in Nepal are located on the southeastern
flank of the Ganesh Himal, in the Nawakot series,
just below the Main Central Thrust. These ruby
deposits occur within boudinaged marble lenses, 60
to 150 m wide and up to 1 km long, oriented parallel
to the Main Central Thrust. The Hunza Valley
deposits (Okrush et al. 1976) are located in the
Baltit formation of the Karakorum metamorphic
complex, north of the Nanga Parbat Massif, between
the Main Karakorum Thrust and the intrusive
74
FIG. 2-35. Variations of habit and
color during the growth of
ruby from Mong Hsu,
Myanmar (Peretti et al. 1995).
The successive growth zones
are red (R, R'), Violet (V, V')
and intermediary (I, I') colors
which are associated to a
coeval variation of chromium
(Cr2O3) and titanium (TiO2).
Karakorum batholith. The famous Mogok ruby
deposits occur in the Mogok Metamorphic Belt.
This belt accommodated a large part of the Indo-
Asian collision and is marked by high temperature
ductile Oligocene stretching and post-Miocene
brittle right-lateral faults, such as the Shan scarp
fault zone and the Sagaing fault (Bertrand & Rangin
2003). The ruby deposits in northern Vietnam are
located along the Red River shear zone that was
active during Cenozoic times (Schärer et al. 1990,
Tapponnier et al. 1990, Garnier et al. 2004b). The
deposits from Luc Yen (An Phu, Bai Da Lan-Mong
Son, Khoan Thong, Luc Yen, Minh Tien, and Nuoc
Ngap mines) occur in weakly deformed marble units
from the Lo Gam tectonic zone, located on the
eastern flank of the Day Nui Con Voi belt within the
Red River shear zone (Leloup et al. 2001).
In general these ruby deposits are hosted by
metamorphosed platform carbonate units associated
with garnet-biotite-sillimanite- or biotite-kyanite-
bearing gneiss and granite (Fig. 2-36). The marble
units consist of discontinuous horizons up to 300 m
in thickness, now oriented parallel to the main
regional foliations, thrusts or shear zones related to
Cenozoic Himalayan orogenesis. Dikes of granite
and/or pegmatite intruded these metamorphosed
sedimentary rocks. Ruby mineralization is generally
stratiform and distributed within marble layers. In
Luc Yen (Vietnam), Nangimali (Azad-Kashmir),
and Hunza (Pakistan), amphibolite bodies alternate
with calcitic and/or dolomitic marble.
The marble parageneses typically consist of
calcite, dolomite, spinel, phlogopite, margarite,
amphibole, chlorite, forsterite, and titanite ±
graphite ± garnet ± pyrite. The surrounding gneiss
or schist exhibits assemblages with biotite-garnet-
sillimanite ± scapolite ± kyanite ± amphibole ±
 GIULIANI ET AL. –– GEM CORUNDUM
FIG. 2-36. The Nangimali Formation showing the location
of the ruby-bearing marble in the metamorphic pile
(after Pêcher et al. 2000).
clinopyroxene. At the Jegdalek, Nangimali, and
Ruyil-Chumar deposits pegmatites are absent (Smith
et al. 1997, Pêcher et al. 2002) and ruby occurs in
marble lenses parallel to the main foliation and/or
within thin fractures (up to 3––4 cm wide) in marble
horizons (Pêcher et al. 2002).
The ruby crystals typically occur: (1)
disseminated within marble and associated with
phlogopite, muscovite, scapolite, margarite, spinel,
titanite, pyrite, and graphite, as at Jegdalek, Chumar
and Ruyil, Hunza, Mogok, Mong Hsu, Myanmar,
and Luc Yen; (2) in veinlets or gash veins, as in
some occurrences in northern Vietnam, and
associated with phlogopite, margarite, titanite,
graphite, and pyrite, and sometimes related to
micro-shear zones, as at Nangimali; or (3) in
pockets associated with orthoclase, phlogopite,
margarite, graphite, and pyrite in some occurrences
of northern Vietnam.
Ruby hosted in marble was indirectly dated by
40
Ar/39Ar stepwise heating performed on single
grains of phlogopite syngenetic with ruby (Garnier
et al. 2002b, Garnier et al. 2006b), and zircon
inclusions in ruby were dated by U––Pb ion probe
techniques (Garnier et al. 2004b). 40Ar/39Ar ages of
75
phlogopite associated with ruby are Oligocene (24.7
±0.3 Ma) at Jegdalek, Miocene at Mogok (18.7 ±0.2
to 17.1 ±0.2 Ma), at Hunza (10.8 ±0.3 to 5.4 ±0.3
Ma) and Chumar (5.6 ±0.4 Ma), and Pliocene (4.6
±0.1 Ma) at Ruyil (Fig. 2-8). In Vietnam, a zircon
included in a ruby from Luc Yen yielded a
238
U/206Pb age of 38.1 ±0.5 Ma, indicating that ruby
formed around 40 Ma when ductile deformation was
active under peak metamorphic conditions in the
Red River shear zone. All these ages are consistent
with extensional tectonic processes that were active
from Afghanistan to Vietnam, in the ruby-bearing
metamorphic belts, between the Oligocene and the
Pliocene. The ruby deposits are contemporaneous
with the intrusions spatially associated with them.
Only a few detailed geological studies have
been devoted to these ruby deposits but several
hypotheses on their genesis have been advanced.
One hypothesis suggests that ruby formation is a
consequence of amphibolite-facies regional meta-
morphism in the calcareous rocks enriched in Al
relative to Si, Cr and Ti (Okrush et al. 1976). Such
original bulk rock chemistry may result from
lateritic weathering of an impure limestone, formed
in a karst environment, before metamorphism. This
model, proposed by Okrush et al. (1976) for
deposits in the Hunza Valley, was also used by
Rossovskiy et al. (1982) and Bowersox et al. (2000)
to explain the genesis of the Jegdalek, Pamirs, and
Mogok deposits. Hunstiger (1990) explained that
corundum formed from diaspore as a result of
intensification of pressure and metamorphism of an
initial impure protolith following the prograde
transformation from hydrargillite, to boehmite and
diaspore, and finally corundum. Kissin (1994)
proposed a variant model with metasomatic trans-
formations by metamorphic fluids of terrigenous
layers in marble.
A second hypothesis suggests that ruby has an
indirect relation with granite and its formation is due
to contact metamorphism (skarn-type) developed
around granitic intrusions, as proposed by Iyer
(1953) and Harlow et al. (2006) for some of the
Mogok deposits where ruby-painite [CaZrAl9O15
(BO3)] and typical skarn assemblages are found. In
that case, the source of heat and some of the
chemical elements necessary for ruby formation is
the granite. The hypothesis of alkaline meta
somatism of marble by the circulation of magmatic
and/or pegmatitic fluids is retained by Nguy et al.
(1994) for the genesis of Luc Yen deposits.
A third model suggests that the ruby has a
direct genetic relation with a magma and formed
 GIULIANI ET AL. –– GEM CORUNDUM
during the emplacement of alkaline magmatism
intrusions in marble for the Tajikistan deposits in
the Central Pamirs (Terekhov et al. 1999);
magmatic solutions carrying Al interacted with
marble. The deep-seated source is reinforced by
numerical modeling of fluid––rock interaction
between marble and an alkaline fluid, performed by
Kolstov (2002). Stability of the corundum-bearing
assemblages in the modeling was described by the
equilibrium equation:
2 pargasite + corundum + 9 CO2 ļ
3 anorthite + 2 albite + calcite + dolomite
+ 2 H2O (10)
The high concentration of CO2 appeared unusual to
Kolstov (2002) for most of the fluids in
amphibolite-facies metamorphism and for fluids
degassing from magmatic chambers. Thus a deep-
seated source which interacted with an initial rock
package made of marble and kyanite-garnet-biotite
schist was preferred. The metasomatic interaction of
the fluid with the composite protolith resulted in the
formation of metasomatic columns where corundum
formed in Mg or Ca-rich marble zones. To the
contrary, based on isotopic and geochemical data on
the corundum-bearing metasomatic rocks in the
Central Pamirs, Dufour et al. (2007) demonstrated
by numerical simulations of the fluid––rock alteration
that ruby was the product of regional alkaline
metasomatism during the closing stages of
Himalayan metamorphism. The terrigenous
material hosted by the Phanerozoic carbonate
reservoir was desilicated by the metasomatic fluids
and ruby formed at T = 600––650°C and P = 4––6
kbar.
A fourth model suggests that the ruby formed
during high-pressure metamorphism of originally
impure limestone in evaporitic series. Spiridonov
(1998) proposed this hypothesis for the ruby
deposits of Turakuloma, Pamirs, and the Uralian
folded areas. Ruby occurs within a sequence of
dolomite, calcite and magnesite marble containing
intercalated schist. Ruby is associated with
carbonate minerals, scapolite, and fuchsite. The
model is based on experiments and petrological
observations which show that at a high CO2 fugacity
spinel breaks down into corundum according to the
reaction:
MgAl2O4 + CO2 o Al2O3 + MgCO3 (11)
spinel + CO2 o corundum + magnesite
Spiridonov (1998) thought that both meta-evaporite
and meta-ultrabasite rocks are favorable environ-
76
ments for ruby crystallization because Si, K and Na
activities are low, and above 400°C alumina is
transported within aqueous fluids. The model
requires the presence of Cr and also a fluid-
saturated environment.
Kissin (1994) observed the formation of ruby in
marble in the Urals from the destabilization of
spinel at a temperature between 620––660°C and
pressure around 2.5 kbar, according to the reaction:
spinel + calcite + CO2 ļ
corundum + dolomite (12)
The formation of corundum by spinel breakdown is
the main reaction observed for the ruby deposits
from southeast and central Asia (Garnier 2003). In
this ruby belt, the experimental reaction proposed by
Spirodonov (1998) does not occur and magnesite
has never been identified:
spinel + CO2 o corundum + magnesite (13)
A fifth model suggests that during the
metamorphism of evaporite lenses which reacted as
molten salts with the marble and its impurities i.e.,
organic matter and phengite (Garnier 2003, Garnier
et al. 2008) to produce CO2––H2S––COS––S8––
AlO(OH)-bearing fluids subsequently trapped by
Vietnamese rubies (Giuliani et al. 2003). Pêcher et
al. (2002) have shown that the formation of
Nangimali ruby was a good example of fluid
transfer during metamorphic processes. Parental
fluids of ruby are of metamorphic origin and CO2 is
derived from the decarbonation of dolomitic marble.
In marble, the presence of aspidolite and anhydrite
(Garnier et al. 2004c), together with anhydrite and
salts in ruby, implies the presence of evaporite rocks
for the genetic formation of ruby. Such sulfates and
salts in ruby were also described at Mogok (Smith
& Dunaigre 2001, Garnier et al. 2008), Luc Yen
(Giuliani et al. 2003), Quy Chau, Afghanistan,
Nepal, Tadjikistan, and Campo Lungo in
Switzerland (Garnier et al. 2008). Raman and
infrared spectroscopy, combined with microthermo-
metric investigations, on primary and secondary
fluid inclusions in gem ruby from all the ruby
deposits from central and southeast Asia provided
evidence for CO2––H2S––COS––S8––AlO(OH)-bearing
fluids with native sulfur and diaspore daughter
minerals, without visible water (Giuliani et al.
2012b). Crush-leach analyses identified sulfates and
chlorides that are attributed to the presence of
anhydrite and Na––Ca––Cl salts in the ruby crystal
(Giuliani et al. 2012b). The thermal reduction of
evaporitic sulfates explains the fluid chemistry.
 GIULIANI ET AL. –– GEM CORUNDUM
As we have seen, marble-hosted ruby deposits
from central and southeast Asia share common
features: (1) they are hosted by metamorphosed
marine carbonate assemblages; (2) salts and sulfate
minerals are found as solid inclusions in the ruby
samples; (3) minerals associated with ruby are
enriched in Mg, Al, F and in some cases Cl; (4) they
have trapped CO2––H2S-bearing fluids with native
sulfur and diaspore daughter minerals; and (5) they
formed during or directly after upper amphibolite- to
granulite-facies metamorphism.
(C––O––H) isotopic studies have shown that
marble units were not infiltrated by externally
derived fluids (Garnier et al. 2008). CO2-rich fluids
are of metamorphic origin and derived from
devolatilization of marble. The second genetic
model, based on a possible circulation of magmatic
and/or pegmatitic fluids, and the third model, based
on a direct genetic relation of ruby with magma or a
deep seated source as proposed for the Tajikistan
deposits (Terekhov et al. 1999), are not tenable.
Nevertheless, ruby is sometimes associated with
skarn at the contact granite––marble in some mines at
the Mogok district (Nissimboim & Harlow 2011).
The presence of a high CO2 fugacity for ruby
formation is in agreement with the five proposed
models for ruby formation and experimental results
(Kolstov 2002). Such thermodynamic conditions are
favorable for spinel breakdown according to the
main reaction:
spinel + calcite + CO2 o
corundum + dolomite (14)
This reaction occurring during the retrograde
metamorphic path has been commonly observed in
marble from Jegdalek, Afghanistan, Hunza and Luc
Yen in Vietnam (Fig. 2-37A; Garnier et al. 2008),
and is also described from the Urals (Kissin 1994).
In dolomitic marble, the presence of aspidolite and
anhydrite together with hypersaline fluids (salt and
sulfate) in rubies implies the necessary presence of
evaporites for the generation of ruby (Fig. 2-37B,
C).
The petrographical and geochemical evidence is
reinforced by S and B isotopic studies of anhydrite
and tourmaline respectively that have pointed to the
participation of non-marine and marine evaporites in
the formation of ruby (Garnier et al. 2008). At
Hunza the presence of inclusions of anhydrite and
spinel in ruby (Fig. 2-37B), inclusions of spinel in
anhydrite, and restite of anhydrite in marble,
suggests that the limestone was deposited in an
environment propitious for the deposition of
77
evaporites. In the Mogok rubies, multi-solid fluid
inclusions (Fig. 2-37E) are coexisting with the
primary CO2––H2S––COS––S8––AlO(OH)-bearing
fluids (Fig. 2-37D). They are composed of molten
salts and solid inclusions which have been studied
by micro-Raman spectrometry. The main molten
salt and sulfates are dawsonite (NaAl(CO3)(OH)2,
barite, unnamed sulfates, Al-nitrates, Na––Ca––CO3
mineral like shortite Na2Ca2(CO3)3, and complex
carbonate minerals (REE-carbonates?). Halite cubes
are sometimes present. The other minerals are
fluorite, calcite, dolomite, apatite, boehmite,
magnetite, graphite, and rutile. The presence of
molten salts corroborates the model of formation for
ruby based on the thermal reduction of sulfates of
evaporitic origin (Giuliani et al. 2012b). These
different features support models four and five
proposed for the formation of marble-hosted ruby
deposits.
Elemental sulfur, hydrogen sulfide and COS in
the CO2-inclusions originated from the partial
dissolution and reduction of anhydrite by organic
carbon (Giuliani et al. 2003). Such chemical
association, and especially the presence of COS in
geological fluids, was previously described by
Grishina et al. (1992) for the Siberian platform,
where dolerite intruded carbonate––anhydrite and
halite beds. Furthermore, nitrates as NO3–– were
identified in the crush leach and Giuliani et al.
(2012b) proposed a non-marine evaporite origin i.e.,
evaporitic lakes.
The high temperature conditions for ruby
formation imply a heat source, i.e., metamorphic or
magmatic. Contact metamorphism or regional
metamorphism are both suitable. Control of the
mineralization is lithologic, with ruby formed in
marble intercalated with meta-evaporite lenses
(Pêcher et al. 2002, Garnier 2003). As no externally
derived fluids are interpreted to have circulated
through the marble, the source of Al and Cr must
have been deposited coevally with the carbonate
rocks on the platform. The Al was probably
contained in clay minerals, which are produced in
great quantities by weathering of continental rocks
and transported by rivers to the sedimentary basins.
A contribution from organic matter for Cr and Al is
a possibility, as is apparent in bitumen associated
with Colombian emeralds in a black shale
environment with Cr 3––87 ppm, Al 700––2200 ppm
(Giuliani et al. 2000), but also from detrital minerals
enriched in Cr, and possibly Ti. Thus, ruby is
present only in marble units that preferentially
contained these Cr––Al––bearing minerals, as
 GIULIANI ET AL. –– GEM CORUNDUM

FIG. 2-37. Petrography and fluid inclusions in ruby from marble (Garnier et al. 2008, Giuliani et al. 2012b). A, Ruby (Crd) in
equilibrium with dolomite (Dol) forms from the reaction of spinel (Sp) with calcite (Cc). Spinel is a pre-ruby phase and it
contains high Cr (up to 19 wt.%) and Zn contents (10 wt.%). Spinel contains also anhydrite (Anh). Hunza valley, Pakistan.
B, Detail of anhydrite (Anh) and spinel (Sp) inclusions in this ruby. SEM photographs A and B are back-scattered electron
(BSE) mode. C, Inclusions of anhydrite (Anh) and phlogopite (Phg) in ruby (Ru) from Nangimali in Azad Kashmir. SEM
photograph. D, Ruby from Mong Hsu (Myanmar). Two pseudo-secondary biphase fluid inclusions containing a carbonic
liquid (l) and vapor phases (v). The biggest FI contains diaspore crystals (Di) and one globule of native sulfur (S8).
E, Polyphase fluid inclusions with molten salts in a Mogok ruby with respectively, calcite (Ca), graphite (C), dawsonite
(Dw), apatite (Ap), halite (H), shortite (Sh), fluorite (F), corundum (Crd), and a liquid CO2––H2S––S8 fluid (l).

FIG. 2-38. Synthesis presenting the proposed model for genesis of ruby deposits in marble (Garnier 2003). The different stages
of formation of these deposits are illustrated from sedimentation, i.e., Precambrian to Permo-Triassic, to the Himalayan
metamorphism. Stage I: sedimentation of the protoliths in a continental platform with a detrital supply, and deposition of
carbonate, dolomitic carbonate, organic matter-bearing shale, and marine and non-marine evaporite sediments i.e., lagoon,
sabkha paleogeography as found in the representative lithostratigraphic section of Nangimali in Azad Kashmir.
Stage 2: Cenozoic Himalayan metamorphism a consequence of the Indo-Asian collision with the metamorphism of the ruby
protoliths as shown on the metamorphic unit cross-section of Nangimali. Corundum formed during the prograde
metamorphic P––T path and then during the retrograde stage from the destabilization of different mineral assemblages as
drawn in the P––T sketch: 1, from margarite, then 2, from micas, and 3, from spinel. At this stage, corundum is destabilized
at lower temperature and pressure in margarite, and then diaspore. Gem ruby formed at a pressure between 2.6 and 3.3 kbar
and temperature between 620 and 670°C (black rectangles). Abbreviations: An: anorthite; And: andalusite; Cc: calcite; Co:
corundum; Do: dolomite; Dsp: diaspore; Kfs: K-feldspar; Ky: kyanite; Mrg: margarite; Ms: muscovite; Si: sillimanite; Sp:
spinel; W: water.

78
GIULIANI ET AL. –– GEM CORUNDUM

79
 GIULIANI ET AL. –– GEM CORUNDUM
proposed by Okrush et al. (1976) and Hunstiger
(1990). The Al2O3 content of the marble is not a
critical factor for ruby formation (Garnier et al.
2004c). At Nangimali the marble contains 0.1 wt.%
Al2O3, and in the marble from the Urals deposits, the
Al2O3 content is between 0.08 and 0.13 wt.%
(Kissin 1994).
The following model (Fig. 2-38) has been
proposed for formation of the Indo-Asian ruby
deposits (Garnier et al. 2008): (Stage I) deposition
of sedimentary protoliths on the Paleotethys
platform with local formation of restricted
endoheric basins. The ages of sedimentation vary
from Precambrian at Jegdalek (Terekhov et al.
1999) to Permo-Triassic at Nangimali (Malik
1994). Restriction of sedimentary basins may be due
to tectonism, volcanism (e.g., intrusion of
basaltic dikes at Nangimali) or sedimentation
dynamics with coral reefs, oolitic units. (Stage II)
during the Indo-Asian collision, the sediments
were metamorphosed in upper amphibolite to
granulite facies, transforming carbonate into
marble.
Mg, Al, and Na enrichment of the minerals
associated with ruby in marble, the presence of
tourmaline and anhydrite and salts, and the
replacement of some of the hydroxyl groups by F
and Cl are evidence for the participation of
evaporites in the formation of ruby. Molten salts
(NaCl, KCl, CaSO4 and Na2CO3) enriched in F, Cl
and B, mobilized (over short distances) Al and
transition metal elements contained in the marble.
Organic matter played a key role in the mineralizing
process. Thermal reduction of evaporitic sulfate,
based on an initial assemblage of anhydrite, calcite
and graphite, is a convenient explanation for the
fluid chemistry found in fluid inclusions but also for
the main paragenesis associated with ruby, i.e.,
carbonate and pyrite, with a reduction of sulfate and
oxidation of organic matter. The deposition of pyrite
occurs as follows:
7H2S + 4Fe2+ + SO42–– o 4FeS2 + 4H2O + 6H+ (15)
Gem ruby formed during the retrograde
metamorphism at temperatures of ca. 620––690 ºC
and pressures of approximatively 2.2––3.3 kbar
(Garnier et al. 2008). Evaporites appear to be a key
factor in the formation of ruby deposits: (1) Cl and F
acted as activators as proposed by Peretti et al.
(1996) to mobilize Al in marble, which normally is
poorly mobile. F and Cl facilitate the mobilization
of Al from mica, formed by the metamorphism of
clay minerals, organic matter, and spinel minerals,
80
leading finally to the formation of ruby;
(2) thermochemical reduction of sulfates produced
S8, COS and H2S. H2S combined with Fe to produce
pyrite; (3) the presence of lenses of evaporites in
some specific horizons explains why ruby is
sporadic in a single homogeneous marble level,
even though Al is ubiquitous; and (4) this genetic
model for natural ruby in marble resembles the
industrial process that uses molten salts (NaF––AlF––
Al2O3) to produce Al (Lacassagne et al. 2002). Al
fluoride and oxy-fluorine Al are major chemical
species involved in dissolution of Al in a F-rich
fluid.
Guidelines for prospecting for new deposits
must take into account (1) the lithological control of
mineralization: the protolith deposited in a
carbonate platform, in a lagoonal to lacustrine
environment, isolated from open sea, and promoting
the deposition of marine and non-marine evaporites;
and (2) the presence of index minerals such as Na-
rich phlogopite (aspidolite) or pargasite and edenite,
Mg-tourmaline, Cr-rich titanite (more abundant than
ruby itself), and spinel and anhydrite in marble (or
in alluvium), are all indicators of possible marble-
hosted ruby mineralization in the area.
The second type of marble deposit concerns
ruby and pink sapphire in marble with intercalated
silicate and gneiss layers (Plate 2A, B). It is the case
at the Revelstoke occurrence in British Columbia,
Canada, discovered in 2005 (Dzikowski et al. 2010,
2013). The occurrence is in the Monashee Complex
of the Omineca belt of the Canadian Cordillera. The
corundum occurs in thin, folded and stretched layers
with a predominant assemblage of green muscovite
+ Ba-bearing K-feldspar + anorthite (An0.85––1) ±
phlogopite ± Na-poor scapolite. Other silicate layers
within the marble are: (1) diopside + tremolite ±
quartz and (2) garnet (Alm0.7––0.5Grs0.2––0.4) + Na-rich
scapolite + diopside + tremolite + (Na,K)-amphibole
minerals. Non-silicate layers in marble are either
magnetite- or graphite-bearing. The pink sapphire
and ruby crystals have elevated Cr2O3 (” 0.21 wt.%)
and low amounts of TiO2; rare blue rims contain
higher amounts TiO2 (” 0.53 wt.%) and Fe2O3 (”
0.07 wt.%). The associated micas have elevated Cr,
V, Ti, and Ba. Petrography of the silicate layers
show that corundum formed from muscovite at the
peak of metamorphism (T~ 650––700°C at P ~ 8.5––9
kbar). The scapolite-bearing assemblages formed
during or after decompression of the rock at T~ 650
°C and P~ 4––6 kbar.
Whole-rock geochemical data show that the
corundum-bearing silicate (mica––feldspar) layers
 GIULIANI ET AL. –– GEM CORUNDUM
formed by mechanical mixing of carbonate with the
host gneiss protolith; the bulk composition of the
silicate layers was modified by Si and Fe
depletion during prograde metamorphism. High
element mobility is supported by homogenization of
į18O and į13C values in carbonates and silicates for
the marble and silicate layers. The silicate layers
and the gneiss contain elevated contents of Cr and V
due to a volcanoclastic component of their
protolith.
Such a deposit has been also described in
Morogoro, Tanzania (Le Goff et al. 2008). At the
mine Ngong'Oro, the ruby-bearing horizon is
formed by several centimetre-wide metasomatic
zones parallel to the metamorphic foliation, and
formed at the contact between marble and
intercalated biotite gneiss layers such as at
Revelstoke. Ruby is associated with spinel and
sapphirine. Hänni & Schmetzer (1991) described
ruby from Morogoro. The crystals are composed of
the faces of the pinacoid c and the rhombohedron r,
but in some crystals the faces a {11.0} are present
and thus the crystals look like octahedral spinel
(Fig. 2-39).
Metamorphic deposits in granulite, charnockite
and gneiss: granulite is a metamorphic rock with a
high-pressure and high-temperature origin. It is fine-
grained with dominant lenticular quartz and
feldspar, and hypersthene and garnet, with
accessory minerals such as sillimanite, kyanite,
rutile, cordierite, and spinel. Granulite is found in
Precambrian terranes with other rocks such as
leptynite, kinzigite, charnockite, and gneiss.
Several gem corundum deposits are hosted by
biotite-sillimanite-K-feldspar gneiss in the granulite
facies, for example, those from Azov in Russia,
Froland in Norway, Mysore in India, Hida in Japan,
and southern Madagascar (Schwarz 1998). Other
deposits are known from Indaia in Brazil (Epstein et
al. 1994) and in the metamorphic Mozambique belt
FIG. 2-39. Crystal habits of ruby from Morogoro,
Tanzania (after Hänni & Schmetzer 1991). a,
hexagonal prism of second order {11.0}; r,
rhombohedron {10.l}; c, pinacoid {00.1}.
81
(Simonet 2000). Grew et al. (1989) also described
biotite-plagioclase-spinel-corundum in the gneiss of
the Aldan craton in eastern Siberia.
In Sri Lanka, the rich alluvial gemstone
deposits are located in the Precambrian Highland-
Southwestern Complex formed of granulitic rocks
(Fig. 2-28). Gemstones are rarely discovered in situ
and the prospecting methods for primary deposits
are based on geology, geochemistry, and mineralogy
(Wells 1956, Cooray & Kumarapeli 1960, Katz
1972, Dahanayake 1980, Dissanayake et al. 2000,
Walton 2004). The mother rocks of corundum may
include charnockite, gneiss with quartz, feldspar,
garnet, sillimanite, graphite, and marble and calcitic
gneiss (Cooray & Kumarapeli 1960, Munasinghe &
Dissanayake 1981; Dissanayake & Chandrajith
1999). The P––T conditions of formation of gem
corundum in the amphibolite facies was
approached by De Maesschalk & Oen (1989)
studying fluid inclusions trapped by corundum from
gem gravels.
Several studies have explored the modes of
occurrence of gemstones and guides for exploration.
Dahanayake (1980) studied gem-bearing gravels
and suggested that gem corundum (Plate 1F) and
spinel derived from both garnet-bearing gneiss and
skarn deposits. Munasinghe & Dissanayake (1981)
suggested that corundum formed at the contact
between basic charnockitic intrusions and
aluminous metasedimentary rocks. Rupasinghe et
al. (1984) and Dissanayake & Weerasooriya (1986)
used Be and F geochemistry to locate the bedrock
sources. Rupasinghe & Dissanayake (1985)
proposed that the intrusion of charnockite into
aluminous metasedimentary rocks was responsible
for desilication in the pelitic sedimentary rocks and
the formation of corundum following the reaction:
spinel + sillimanite ļ
cordierite + corundum (16)
Mendis et al. (1993) applied structural geology in
the exploration for residual gem deposits and found
that they are apparently associated with structurally
deformed areas where marble and granite occur
(skarn-type deposit). Gamage et al. (1992) showed
that high Rb/Sr ratios in stream sediments
correspond to high gem concentrations. They
suggested that depletion of Sr is a function of
fractionation of the parental granite generated
during granulite metamorphism.
Ruby and sapphire associated with granulite-
facies metamorphism from Sri Lanka show
numerous mineralogical and geological similarities
 GIULIANI ET AL. –– GEM CORUNDUM
with those from Eastern Africa (Mercier et al.
1999b, Simonet 2000), Madagascar (Lacroix 1922,
Rakotondrazafy et al. 1996, 2008), and southern
India (Santosh & Collins 2003, Giuliani et al.
2007a, 2007b). Based on the correlation of gem and
graphite fields, Menon & Santosh (1995), and
Dissanayake & Chandrajith (1999) proposed the
existence of a Neoproterozoic––early Cambrian
gemstone province developed in East Gondwana
under granulitic conditions (Fig. 2-8). Indeed, the
gemstone areas are located in the Precambrian
basement, which includes remnants of early crust
(de Wit 2003) which were intensely reworked
between 950 and 450 Ma, during Pan-African
tectonometamorphic events (Kröner 1984). The
collision processes between East and West
Gondwana resulted in the formation of
Neoproterozoic mobile belts (~650 Ma), mostly
metamorphosed to high-grade granulite facies. They
include similar metamorphic rocks varying from
amphibolite, feldspar gneiss, charnockite, granulite,
cordieritite, anorthosite, and mafic and ultramafic
rocks (Mercier et al. 1999a, 1999b; Feneyrol 2012;
Feneyrol et al. 2013).
Southern Madagascar is a key area for the
characterization of primary corundum deposits
formed under granulite-facies conditions
(Rakotondrazafy et al. 2008). The metamorphic
rocks are high- to medium-pressure granulite and
are well exposed throughout southeastern
Madagascar (Fig. 2-32). The granulitic terranes are
divided into four major lithostratigraphic groups
(Besairie 1967, de Wit 2003) corresponding to the
juxtaposition of tectonic blocks of different crustal
levels (Martelat et al. 2000). This patchwork is due
to the relative movements of major ductile shear
zones, reflecting a crustal scale strike-slip system.
Rocks in all blocks underwent metamorphism
around 750°C. The pressure shows an E––W
decrease from 11 to 8 kbar in the west to 5 to 3 kbar
in the east (Nicollet 1990). Granitoid rocks are
abundant in the eastern part of the country, whereas
anorthosite and metabasite are abundant in the west.
Corundum deposits are found in all the different
tectonic blocks, but are strongly associated with the
presence (Fig. 2-32) of major or minor shear zones
(Rakotondrazafy et al. 2008). These structures acted
as preferential fluid pathways, and the corundum-
bearing rocks have suffered intense fluid––rock
interaction resulting in huge amounts of
metasomatic alteration. The nature of the parental
host rock varies from feldspathic gneiss (Zazafotsy
and Sahambano deposits), cordieritite (Iankaroka
82
and Ambatomena), amphibolite, and anorthosite
(Ejeda, Fotadrevo, Vohitany, and Gogogogo) to
impure marble (skarns of Andranondambo,
Tranomaro). The 'sakenite' described by Lacroix
(1941) is found in a metamorphic series made up of
paragneiss with intercalations of amphibolite,
clinopyroxenite, and impure marble (the Sakeny,
Vohidava, Ejeda-Anavoha, and Andranondambo
occurrences) and consists of anorthite veins or
segregations ± spinel ± corundum ± sapphirine ±
phlogopite and (± hibonite). Their original protolith
is either metapelite (Lacroix 1941, Raith et al. 2008)
or meta-anorthosite (Boulanger 1959, Ohnenstetter
et al. 2008).
The diversity of bedrock sources of gem
corundum explains the incredibly rich variety of
sapphires found in the Ilakaka placer, located on the
western border of the granulitic domain (Garnier et
al. 2004a, Giuliani et al. 2007a, Rakotondrazafy et
al. 2008). The sources of ruby and colored sapphire
are multiple, and the expression 'gem corundum in
granulite' includes a variety of rocks that might
contain sapphire and/or ruby. The Malagasy
example illustrates the complexity in the search for
primary deposits in Sri Lanka.
Metamorphic deposits in migmatite: migmatite is a
mixture of rocks of granitic and gneiss types. The
gneiss is coarse-grained with a diffuse foliation.
These rocks formed at the boundary of high-grade
metamorphic and magmatic rocks. They formed by
partial melting during ultrametamorphism of an
initial rock called the paleosome; one part of the
rock melts and one part remains solid and is called a
restite. The whole range of migmatitic rocks is
grouped under the term anatexite.
The corundum-bearing anatexite at the vicinity
of Morogoro in the Precambrian terranes of
Tanzania is an anatectic gneiss (Altherr et al. 1982).
It is composed of different assemblages: (1) a
medium-grained gneiss with albite + muscovite +
phlogopite + corundum and albite + kyanite or
sillimanite + phlogopite, and accessory minerals as
rutile and baddeleyite; (2) a coarse-grained gneiss
with nests of corundum and antiperthite, with minor
phases of albite, muscovite, phlogopite, rutile,
baddeleyite, and tourmaline. Assemblages with
albite + muscovite + phlogopite + corundum are
restite, while those with kyanite or sillimanite are
recrystallized paleosome. The anatexite formed at
PH2O = 7.7 kbar and T = 695°C.
Cartwright & Barnicoat (1986) described pale
blue sapphire in kyanite-muscovite restite in
 GIULIANI ET AL. –– GEM CORUNDUM

anatexite from Scotland. The P––T conditions at the
peak of metamorphism were estimated at 11 kbar
and 900––925°C.
Metamorphic deposits in amphibolite and gabbro:
corundum in amphibolite originating from the
metamorphism of gabbroic and dunitic rocks is an
important source of ruby. Generally ruby is not of
gem quality but the crystals are used for cabochons
and ornamental uses, for example the famous
'anyolite' from Longido in Tanzania (Plate 1B,
Dirlam et al. 1992, Le Goff et al. 2008, Feneyrol et
al. 2013) or the 'smaragdite ruby' from North
Carolina in the USA (Hughes 1997). Three recent
ruby deposits discovered in the last decade are
highly economic for their quality and quantity such
as at Winza in Tanzania (Peretti et al. 2008,
Schwarz et al. 2008), at Aappaluttoq in Greenland
(Rohtert & Ritchie 2006, Fagan et al. 2011, Fagan
2012), and at Montepuez, Ruambeze and M'sawize
in Mozambique (Pardieu et al. 2009a, 2009b, 2009c,
Pardieu & Chauviré 2013).
Such corundum deposits in amphibolite and
gabbro are known at Kittila in Finland (Haapala et
al. 1971), at Sittampundi in India (Janardharan &
Leake 1974), at Chantel in France (Forestier &
Lasnier 1969), at Losongonoi in Tanzania (Dirlam
et al. 1992), at Kitui in Kenya (Barot & Harding
1994), at Chimwadzulu in Mozambique (Andreoli
1984, Henn et al. 1990), in the Vohibory formations
in Madagascar (Nicollet 1986, Mercier et al.
1999b), in the Harts Range in Australia (McColl &
Warren 1980), at Dir in Pakistan (Aboosally 1999),
and Hokkaido in Japan (Morishita & Kodera 1998).
These deposits display several common
features. The corundum-bearing amphibolite is
associated with mafic and ultramafic complexes
metamorphosed to granulite facies. The common
assemblage is composed of corundum, anorthite,
gedrite, and margarite (Tenthorey et al. 1996,
Nicollet 1986). Others minerals such as sapphirine
(Forestier & Lasnier 1969, Herd et al. 1969,
Nicollet 1986, Tenthorey et al. 1996), garnet
(Nicollet 1986), spinel (Forestier & Lasnier 1969,
Morishita & Kodera 1998), kornerupine (Rohtert &
Ritchie 2006), phlogopite and zoisite (Dirlam et al.
1992) may be present (Fig. 2-40A, B). The initial
basic composition of the protolith includes gabbro

FIG. 2-40. Mineralogical assemblages in corundum-bearing amphibolite and gabbro (after Lasnier 1977, in Giuliani et al.
2010). A, Ruby-bearing amphibolite from Chantel (Haut Allier, France). Successive transformation of spinel in sapphirine,
and sapphirine in corundum. B, The ruby-bearing coronitic gabbro from Champtoceaux is amphibolitized. Hornblende (Hb)
formed a corona around pargasite (Pr) and symplectites (S) with neoformed Na-rich plagioclase (Pl2) onto plagioclase of
the first generation (Pl1). During the amphibolitization ruby is transformed in zoisite (Z). C, Ruby-bearing coronitic gabbro
from Champtoceaux (Bretagne, France). The transformation of spinel (sp) in corundum. Spinel formed granules and
'vermicules' onto the ortho (opx)- and clino (cpx) pyroxenes which are transformed in pargasite (Pr). Ruby grows on spinel.
Drawings from P. Brun (le Règne Minéral).

83
 GIULIANI ET AL. –– GEM CORUNDUM

(Fig. 2-40C, Morishita & Kodera 1998), but also
troctolite (Nicollet 1986, 1990; Tenthorey et al.
1996). The conditions of metamorphism are
granulite facies; for example P = 9––11.5 kbar and T
= 750––800°C for the ruby-bearing amphibolite from
Vohibory in Madagascar (Nicollet 1986) and P = 7
to 10 kbar and T = 800––850°C for those from Buck
Creek in North Carolina (Tenthorey et al. 1996).
At the Winza deposit in central Tanzania
(Peretti et al. 2008, Schwarz et al. 2008), gem
corundum crystals are hosted by 1800––2000 Ma
basement rocks of the Usagaran Belt (Sommer et al.
2005). The main rock types are migmatitic and well-
foliated gneiss, indicative of upper amphibolite- to
granulite-facies conditions. Mining of the primary
deposits has revealed corundum crystals embedded
within dark-colored amphibolite. The corundum is
locally associated with areas of brown garnet ±
feldspar, with accessory Cr-spinel, mica, kyanite,
and allanite. Weathering of the primary deposits
resulted in an overlying soil horizon (eluvial
deposit) that contained gem corundum.
The ruby and sapphire crystals (Fig. 2-41A, B)
are closely associated with cross-cutting dikes of a
garnet-bearing pargasitite rock. Macroscopic
observations clearly showed that, according to its
mineralogy, the dike-like body was mafic in
composition before it was metamorphosed. Possible
lithologies for the protolith include high-alumina
layered gabbro or leucogabbro. The central part of
the dike is composed of garnet (pyrope––almandine)
+ pargasite ± plagioclase ± corundum ± spinel ±
apatite. Metamorphic conditions estimated by using
garnet––amphibole––corundum equilibria showed that
the metamorphic overprint occurred at 800 ±50°C
and 8––10 kbar (Schwarz et al. 2008). Spinel that
overgrew or is included in the corundum is Fe- and
Mg-rich, whereas spinel included in the host
amphibole is Cr-rich with up to 32 wt.% Cr2O3. The
presence of two chemically contrasting spinel

FIG. 2-41. The Winza corundum deposit in Tanzania (modified after Schwarz et al. 2008). A, The primary mineralization is
contained in amphibolite dykes. The hand specimen consists of fine-grained amphibolite (Am) margins flanking orangey
brown garnetite (Gt) and corundum (Crd). B, Detail of the dike showing the association of sapphire (Sa) and ruby (Ru) in a
same crystal. C, Fe2O3 versus Cr2O3 diagrams showing (on the left) the Winza ruby composition compared with those from
Mogok and Mong Hsu in Myanmar (marble type) and from Thailand and Cambodia (basaltic type). On the right, chemical
comparison with some East African ruby deposits such as Chimwadzulu (Malawi), Mangare (Kenya), and Songea
(Tanzania).

84
 GIULIANI ET AL. –– GEM CORUNDUM
compositions indicates that two different
generations are present. The Cr-spinel is probably
relict from the initial magmatic rock before the
metamorphism. The Fe- and Mg-rich spinel
included in the corundum crystallized during the
metamorphic stage.
Two types of ruby and sapphire crystals are
distinguished by their crystal morphology (Schwarz
et al. 2008): (type 1) prismatic-tabular-rhombo-
hedral, and (type 2) dipyramidal. In general,
medium-red and dark (orangey) red top-quality ruby
are type 1 (rhombohedral). Pinkish and purplish red
ruby, as well as pinkish, purplish, and bluish
(commonly strongly color-zoned) sapphire crystals
are type 2 with tabular (very rare) and prismatic
forms, or dipyramidal. The inclusions in both types
are pargasite, spinel, garnet, and rare apatite,
xenotime, and zirconolite (Peretti et al. 2008).
The chemical compositions of Winza ruby and
sapphire (Fig. 2-41C) indicate moderate contents of
Cr (0.1––0.8 wt.% Cr2O3) and Fe (0.2––0.8 wt.%
Fe2O3), very low to low amounts of Ti (55––192 ppm
TiO2) and V (up to 164 ppm V2O3), and low to
moderate Ga (64––146 ppm Ga2O3). The relatively
high Fe content of Winza ruby separates it from
most other natural counterparts.
The oxygen isotope values of Winza corundum
defined a consistent and restricted į18O range of 4.7
±0.15‰‰ (n = 3) which fits with the worldwide range
of ruby hosted in mafic and ultramafic rocks (0.25
to 6.8‰‰, n = 21). The Winza ruby crystals are of
metamorphic origin, with a high-alumina meta-
(leuco)gabbro protolith for the host rock.
The gem corundum deposits of southwest
Greenland are another example of the ruby-hosted
type in gabbroic rocks submitted to metamorphic
metasomatism (Fagan 2012). The deposits are
located within the Fiskenæsset Complex, a layered
cumulate igneous complex that occurs in the lower
zone of the Bjørnesund structural block (Windley &
Smith 1971). It appears today as a sheet-like body,
apparently concordant with the adjacent orthogneiss
and amphibolite. The complex is mid-Archean (2.86
Ga), and individual layers in the Complex range in
width from 2 km to less than a metre. The complex
and the gemstone district are very large, extending
over an area in excess of 400 km2 (Weston 2009).
The intrusive suite comprises layers of gabbro,
ultramafic rocks, leucogabbro, and calcic
anorthosite. The corundum mineralization is
connected with a specific stratigraphic horizon in
the complex; this probably represents a unit with
high Al content, low silica and a high fluid flux and
85
it lies between layers of ultramafic rock and
leucocratic gabbro (Reggin & Chow 2011, Fagan
2012). In the early 1970s the Danish geological
survey located Aappaluttoq and several other ruby
showings while conducting regional scale
geological mapping in the Fiskenæsset Complex.
The Aappaluttoq deposit was subsequently ‘‘lost’’ in
the archives until its rediscovery in 2005 by an
exploration team from True North Gems Inc., the
Canadian junior mining company who hold the
current exploration rights to the deposits. To date
the company has discovered a total of more 50
individual corundum occurrences in the gemstone
district, three of these show significant potential for
development as future gem corundum mines. At this
time, the company is focussing on pre-mining
development at the Aappaluttoq Deposit, but are
expecting to drill and define the resources at the
Siggartartulik and Kigutilik occurrences in the
upcoming years.
The geology of the Aappaluttoq deposit is
dominated by a sequence of intrusive gabbro to
leucogabbro with significant volumes of ultramafic
rocks. This sequence is intruded into and is
structurally juxtaposed against the felsic gneiss
basement suite (Groves & Banfield 2009). The
currently defined dimensions for the deposit are
~160 m long, ~100 m wide and 65 m deep; however
corundum has been recovered in drill core below
200 m depth, and the geological structures remain
open along strike. The main corundum bearing ore
is composed of three main rock types (Plate 2C):
sapphirine-gedrite, leucogabbro and a phlogopitite;
the latter being the most important of these. The
sapphirine-gedrite rocks at Aappaluttoq lie 30 km
from the world type locality for the mineral
sapphirine ([Mg,Al]8[Al,Si]6O20) located within the
village of Qeqertarsuatsiat (formerly known as the
village Fiskenaesset). The Fiskenæsset igneous
Complex contains multiple areas rich in sapphirine-
gedrite; many of these were described in detail by
Herd et al. (1969). The presence of the sapphirine-
gedrite rock at surface has been used by True North
Gems Inc. as an exploration tool, as it acts as a key
indicator for potential corundum mineralization.
This rock only forms along the boundary between
the ultramafic units and the Al-rich rocks of the
gabbroic suite in fluid-metasomatized areas. It is
believed that this unit represents a SiO2 sink
between the ultramafic units and the gabbro, which
depleted the availability of SiO2 in the metasomatic
fluid, and relatively increased the amount of Al
present.
 GIULIANI ET AL. –– GEM CORUNDUM
The leucogabbro contains a small amount of
gem corundum as ruby, but a large amount of pink
sapphire. The gabbro is rich in Al, and is believed to
be the unit responsible for releasing the Al to form
the corundum. Its structural location, distal from the
ultramafic, is thought to be responsible for the lack
of ruby, as the Cr geochemical gradient was not
sufficient to enrich the corundum within the
gabbroic units sufficiently to create more than a
pink coloration. The phlogopitite is the host for the
majority of the ruby held within Aappaluttoq, and
has little pink sapphire within it. This is due to the
proximity of this unit to the ultramafic Cr source-
rock and also reflects the relative mobility of Cr in a
fluid-rich environment. This unit is a metasomatic
product, and comprises around 90% phlogopite, 5%
biotite, and 5% corundum (Plate 2C).
The gemstones within the Greenland ruby
deposits are highly abundant and of a good quality.
In the primary deposits, there is a large variation in
the quality of corundum material. It is estimated that
over 85% of the corundum is non-gem (opaque)
corundum, with around 5% classed as gem grade
and 10% of cabochon quality (Mattinson 2007). The
color of the stones range from a deep intense red,
through to a very light pink, and occasionally white.
At Aappaluttoq the majority of the stones are pink
to dark red (Plate 2D); they have 0.26––1.14 wt.%
Cr2O3 and 0.21––0.45 wt.% Fe2O3, and occasional
elevated TiO2 (0.34 wt.%). The stones can grow to a
substantial size (the largest recovered to date is a
440 ct opaque stone that was carved into the 303 ct
Kitaa Ruby).
The Aappaluttoq deposit is the world’’s first
gem deposit to have its value calculated and defined
according to Canadian Securities Regulations (NI
43-101). It alone represents a total of approximately
405 million ct to a depth of 65 m, giving it a
minimum mine life of 10 years. Since the
mineralization continues outside of this it would be
reasonable to conclude that this resource outlines
only a portion of the potential at this site. Together,
Appaluttoq with other deposits such as
Siggartartulik and Kigutilik, represent the three
most promising gem concentrations in southwest
Greenland; they also represent significant gem
deposits that will be capable of producing sizable
volumes of good ruby and sapphire gemstones for
years to come.
The Neoproterozoic metamorphic Mozambique
Belt of Mozambique is subdivided in several
complexes grouped in four geological entities which
are from West to East (Fig. 2-42, Norconsult 2007a,
86
2007b, Boyd et al. 2010): (1) Ponta Messula
complex, (2) Unango and Maruppa complexes, (3)
Nampula complex, and (4) the east––west Pan-
African overthrusts (e.g., Nairoto, Meluco,
Muaquia, M'sawize, Xixano, Lalamo, and
Montepuez) which form the Cabo Delgado complex
overlying the Marrupa complex. Recent discovery
of ruby in Mozambique within the Cabo Delgado
complex concerns the deposits of Ruambeze and
M'sawize in the Niassa province, and the deposits of
Namahumbire and Namahaca in the Delgado
province (Fig. 2-40, Pardieu et al. 2009a, 2009b).
The Ruambeze deposit (or Luambeze) is
located between Marrupa and Meculo along the
Luambeze River (no precise location of the deposit).
It was discovered apparently in 1992 (Pardieu et al.
2009a) and it produced dark red to brown cabochon
grade material. The deposit is probably located in
the Marrupa complex formed of felsic orthogneiss
associated with metasedimentary and migmatitic
paragneiss. Two episodes of metamorphism affected
the series in the amphibolite facies, and dated
respectively at 953 Ma and 555 Ma (Norconsult,
2007a, 2007b).
The M'sawize deposit (called also Niassa,
12°40'53"S 36°49'20"E) is located in the Niassa
National Reserve, about 43 km southeast of
M'sawize village (Pardieu et al. 2009a). The
M'sawize complex is formed of orthogneiss (granitic
to amphibolitic in composition), and paragneiss. The
M'sawize ruby deposit is contained in metagabbro
and gabbroic gneiss (Pardieu et al. 2009b). Ruby in
situ is associated with actinolite, anorthite, scapolite,
epidote, and diopside, as well as in eluvial ruby-rich
soil located above the primary deposit (Pardieu et
al. 2009b). Preliminary examination of ruby
revealed the presence of many twinning planes with
boehmite and silks formed by rutile-like needles.
Chemical analyses of ruby indicate Fe and Cr
contents between 0.28––0.33 and 0.12––0.48 wt.%,
respectively, which fall in the range of the Winza
ruby from Tanzania (Pardieu et al. 2009c). In 2009
around 10% of the gem material did not require any
type of heat treatment while 85% was treated using
lead glass and 5% by borax flux heat treatments
(Pardieu et al. 2009a).
The Namahaca (13°03'32"S, 39°11'08E) and
Namahumbire (13°05'18"S, 39°20'35E) deposits
(also called Montepuez), discovered in May 2009,
are located at about 30 km from Montepuez in the
direction of Pemba. The deposits are hosted in the
Pan-African Montepuez overthrust. The Montepuez
complex is made of Neoproterozoic orthogneiss
 GIULIANI ET AL. –– GEM CORUNDUM
(granitic to amphibolitic in composition), and
paragneiss mainly formed by quartzite, meta-arkose,
marble, quartz-feldspar gneiss, and biotite gneiss
(Boyd et al. 2010). The regional deformation
appears to be mainly ductile in nature, with large
regional folding and localized tight isoclinal folds
that make the highly covered sequences difficult to
interpret. In general the rocks appear to have
experienced regional amphibolite-facies meta-
morphism. Paragneiss in the western part of the
complex was dated to 942 ±14 Ma with a meta-
morphic overprint at 599 ±10 Ma (Boyd et al.
2010). Chemostratigraphic dating of marble in the
Complex suggests their deposition between 1100
and 1050 Ma.
The ruby area exploited by the Montepuez
Ruby Mining Ltd. hosts two distinct geological
types of deposit (Pardieu & Chauviré 2013), alluvial
and primary. The alluvial sedimentary sequence
with a thickness from 0.5 m to over 10 m ranges in
grain size from 10 cm cobbles through to fine quartz
sand. The grains tend to be equidimensional with
significant rounding along the grain edges. No
significant quantities of lithic fragments or clay
87
FIG. 2-42. Geological map of
northeast Mozambique
(after Boyd et al. 2010)
with the location of the
M'sawize (Niassa), and
Namahumbire and
Nahamaca (Montepuez)
ruby deposits (modified
after Pardieu et al. 2009a,
2009b). The deposit of
Ruambeze is not reported
because the GPS location
is not precisely described.
The deposit may be
located in the Marrupa
complex or in the Xixano
complex.
Ruby deposits:
1, M'sawize;
2, Montepuez.
fractions have been noted in this unit. The layer
appears to be grain supported, with minor muddy
matrix material and quartz grains in the 5––10 mm
size range making up the bulk of the unit. This unit
has extensive artisanal workings cut through it, and
a minor amount of corundum does occur within its
upper layer: however most of this material appears
to be non-gem quality. The primary deposit appears
to be a highly metamorphosed or metasomatized
rock that has been completely altered from its
original primary nature (Plate 2E). The resulting
clay appears to be a complex Cr-rich smectite group
clay, with at least 5% of the layer made up of
corundum, altered amphibole, and yellowish mica
(Pardieu et al. 2009b). Large gemmy stones
recovered from the artisanal workings have been
noted in the Montepuez village (Plate 2F), and these
pieces can be of significant gem quality with good
color and shape (around 5% of the stones). The
majority of the production has a great color but with
too many fissures; however, 70% of the production
can be improved by Pb glass heat treatment and
25% (such as the milky stones) by borax flux heat
treatment (Pardieu et al. 2009a). To date no mining
 GIULIANI ET AL. –– GEM CORUNDUM

operations have commenced; however commercial corundum and fuchsite in which the minerals are
bulk sample operations are under way at the sequential alteration products of ultramafic rocks by
Namahumbire site by Gemfields Inc. of London high temperature, low pH hydrothermal solutions
(www.gemfields.co.uk); no record of geological related to a deep level acid epithermal system.
work can be found for the Namahaca Deposit. The Grapes & Palmer (1996) proposed that the
total thickness of the corundum-bearing layers, and fuchsite, margarite, tourmaline, and ruby-bearing
thus the overall resource potential of the area, is boulders from Westland in New Zealand formed by
unknown at this time. metasomatism of quartzofeldspathic enclaves
located in serpentinite (Fig. 2-43). This rock so
Metamorphic deposits in ultramafic rocks: the called 'goodletite' from Hokitika crystallized at T ~
ultramafic-hosted ruby deposits of South Africa, 450 ±20°C and P ~ 5––6 kbar, and the ruby contains
Zimbabwe, and New Zealand have been the subject between 0.5 and 13.0 wt.% Cr2O3.
of several detailed studies. The corundum-fuchsite
rocks from South Africa occur in eastern Transvaal GEOLOGY AND GENESIS OF SECONDARY
(Hall 1923) and in the Barberton greenstone belt CORUNDUM DEPOSITS
(Anhaesseur 1978). In Zimbabwe, the 'boulder Placer deposits are of major commercial
corundum' supplied four-fifths of the world importance and provide most of the gem corundum.
production of corundum in the 1970s (Morrison Corundum from primary deposits is liberated from
1972). The ruby-fuchsite rocks located at O'Briens their parent rocks by weathering, transported by
in the Archean greenstone belt of Harare occur in
metavolcanic rocks, ferruginous quartzite, banded
iron formation, siliceous limestone, and schist. They
form lenses in ultramafic rocks (Schreyer et al.
1981, Kerrich et al. 1987). The lenses contain more
than 89 wt.% of Al2O3, and Cr2O3 up to 2.8 wt.%
(Schreyer et al. 1981). These rocks are so-called
'verdites'; generally the corundum is not of gem
quality, but instead is used for carving.
In Zimbabwe, the verdites contain andalusite,
chlorite, and associations of margarite, tourmaline,
diaspore, rutile, and gersdorfitte (NiAsS), and native
Bi. In Transvaal, the verdites contain biotite,
plagioclase, kyanite, and rutile with exsolution of
Cr––Fe––Al oxides. The verdites are enriched in Al,
Cr, B, V, and As (Schreyer et al. 1981).
Schreyer et al. (1981) argued that the verdites
from Zimbabwe have been metamorphosed at
temperatures around 400°C and pressures lower
than 3.5 kbar whereas the verdites from Transvaal at
temperatures of 600°C and pressures higher than 5
kbar. A debate on the origin of these rocks ensued
(Kerrich et al. 1987, Schreyer 1988). Schreyer et al.
(1981) thought that the rocks formed by exhalative
alteration of komatiite before metamorphism. The
elements B, K, Rb, As, Sb, Bi, and Te were
deposited from the solutions, while Al, Cr, Ni, and
V were concentrated as immobile remainders from
the original rock. The mineralogy of the alteration
products was governed by aluminous sulfide FIG. 2-43. The gem corundum deposit of Westland in
minerals such as alunite, which under regional New Zealand (after Grapes & Palmer 1996). A, Section
metamorphism formed fuchsite and andalusite of a ruby-bearing pebble. B, Chemical distribution of
(Schreyer et al. 1981). Kerrich et al. (1987) the ruby (filled circles) and sapphires (unfilled circles)
proposed a hydrothermal model for the formation of in the (Cr3+)––(Fe3+)––(Ti4++Fe2+) triangular diagram.

88
 GIULIANI ET AL. –– GEM CORUNDUM
streams and rivers, and concentrated in hydro-
graphic traps. These deposits are considered
sedimentary and corundum is either found as
pebbles in gravel lenses or in lithified conglomerate
(paleo-placer).
Two types of concentrations are recognized for
present day placers (Fig. 2-44): (1) eluvial and
colluvial deposits: residual eluvial concentrations
are the product of chemical weathering of parent
rocks. The altered and decomposed primary deposit
settled only vertically. Eluvial-colluvial deposits are
on the slopes and in karst cavities (marble type).
Colluvial deposits correspond to decomposed
primary deposits which have moved vertically and
laterally downslope as the hillside eroded away; (2)
alluvial deposits result from the erosion of the host
rock and transport of corundum by water in streams
and rivers. The concentration occurs where water
velocity drops at a slope change in the hydrographic
profile of the river, at the base of a waterfall, broad
gullies, debris cones, meanders, and inflowing
streams.
The placer deposits of barrier sea beaches are
rare and cited examples include the blue sapphire
occurrence from the Vendée region in France
(Goujou 2002), and the BGY-sapphire deposits
from Madagascar at Befotaka in Nosy-Be Island,
and in the Andovokonko area in the Ambato
Peninsula (Ramdohr & Milisenda 2004).
Paleo-placer deposits are characterized by
different mineral phases which are cemented in a
carbonate or silica-rich matrix. Paleo-placers of
corundum are known from alkali basalt deposits in
Madagascar: (1) in the deposits of the Antsiranana
province, the paleo-placer is formed by a carbonate
karst breccia contained in karst cavities in Jurassic
limestone (Schwarz et al. 2000, Giuliani et al.
2007b); (2) in the Ilakaka area, gem corundum is
found in three gravel levels from alluvial terraces
deposited on the Isalo sandstone. The terraces are
FIG. 2-44. Main types of mechanical and physical hydrographic traps for corundum in placer deposits
(modified after Hughes 1997).
89
weakly consolidated, but correspond to paleo-
placers (Garnier et al. 2004a). The erosion and
remobilization of these sedimentary rocks by rivers
results in the formation of newer present day
placers.
Climate is a major factor for the formation of
secondary deposits. In tropical areas rocks are
exposed to meteoric alteration resulting in an
assemblage of clay minerals, Fe and Mn oxides, and
other supergene phases. Corundum and zircon are
resistant minerals and are found in soils, laterite,
and in gravelly levels overlying bedrock. In
Myanmar, these gem-bearing levels enriched in
pebbles, sand, silt and clay, and iron oxides, are
called "byon" (Kane & Kammerling 1992). Other
examples of such deposits are found in central and
southeast Asia where the effect of the monsoon in
low altitude environments is an effective mechanism
of erosion (Hughes 1997). In high-altitude areas
such as in India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Azad-
Kashmir the weathering alteration is mechanical and
corundum is found in situ in boulders accumulated
on the lower part of the slopes (e.g., 'old mine' at the
Sumjam sapphire deposit, Kashmir). At Nangimali,
a ruby boulder was discovered in a creek in 1979,
but due to difficult access and the short working
season, the primary occurrence was not found until
1988 (Malik 1994). Australia is an example of
sapphire and ruby occurring in alkali basalt that is
subject to a tropical climate. The resulting alluvial
deposits are in eastern Australia, primarily central
Queensland and northern New South Wales
(Sutherland & Abduryim 2009, Abduryim et al.
2012). The main ruby production is located in
Barrington Tops, Yarrowitch, and Tumbarumba.
The sapphire-bearing basaltic sediment, locally
called 'wash', occurs in layers 1 to 3 m thick,
underneath dark clayey soil some 1 to 3 m below the
surface (Abduriyim et al. 2012). In the Inverell
district at the Mary Ann Gully mine, the brown
 GIULIANI ET AL. –– GEM CORUNDUM
basaltic sedimentary soils are extracted from an area
of 10 to 40 km2. The basaltic flows came from a
large eroded volcano and the fine-grained basalt
contains large quantities of corundum, black spinel,
zircon, ilmenite, hematite, olivine, pyroxene,
feldspar, and amphibole.
Many methods are used for the exploitation of
placers. In developing countries, the discovery of a
new deposit provokes the migration of a huge
population of poor people working with rudimentary
tools. These independent miners, called garimpeiros
in Brazil and guaqueiros in Colombia, are equipped
with shovels and pickaxes to dig pits, often tens of
metres deep, to reach the mineralized zone. The gem
gravels are lifted by bags and buckets with the help
of a pulley, washed in sieves at the river, and finally
the gravels are hand-picked. Mechanization permits
the intensive exploitation of placers, especially
those from southeast Asia, Australia, and North
America, more rarely in Africa and Madagascar.
Barren levels are displaced by mechanical shovel
and bulldozer. The gem gravels are brought back to
the washing plant either by trucks or pumps after
water cannon extraction. A classical washing plant
contains one or several trommels, which facilitate a
cut-off of the pebbles according to their size, and
jigs, which sort the pebbles by their density. Finally,
the jigs are cleared out and the pebbles sorted by
hand. The exploitation of placer deposits in deep
rivers is aided by mining dredges. This type of
exploitation is active in the Missouri River in
Montana for the recovery of sapphires (Hughes
1997). The washing plant is directly fixed to the
barge which dredges the river bottom.
Important secondary gem corundum deposits
are found in Australia (Queensland and New South
Wales), Madagascar (Ilakaka, Ambondromifehy,
Vatomandry, Didy), Tanzania (Tunduru, Songea,
Umba), Myanmar (Mogok and Mong Hsu districts),
Vietnam (Luc Yen, Yen Bai, Da Lat, Ban Me
Thuot), the United States (Montana), and Sri Lanka
(Ratnapura, Elahera, Kataragama). The historical,
geological, and mineralogical features of these
deposits are described in details by Heilmann &
Henn (1986), Silva & Siriwardena (1988), Hughes
(1997), Sutherland et al. (1998a, 1998b), Schwarz et
al. (2000), Garnier et al. (2004a), Pham et al. 2004,
Themelis (2008), Pardieu et al. (2009a, 2012),
Hughes et al. (2011), Abduriyim et al. (2012),
Coldham et al. (2012), Pardieu (2012), Pardieu &
Chauviré (2013), and Peretti & Hahn (2013).
Generally, placers contain gem corundum
originating from multiple sources. The geological
90
origins of these gems are thus difficult to assess,
although the problem can be approached by the
study of the solid and fluid inclusions trapped in the
individual crystals (Hughes 1997), and their
chemical (Muhlmeister et al. 1998) and isotopic
composition (Giuliani et al. 2005; 2007a; Fig 2-45).
Placer deposits in marble environments: the case
of Vietnam: the placers formed in marble environ-
ments such as those of Luc Yen and Yen Bai in
Vietnam, and of Mogok and Mong Hsu in Myan-
mar, are closely related to the formation of karst and
chemical weathering of marble and associated rocks
i.e., schist, gneiss and granitoid rocks. The
corundum is trapped in eluvial, colluvial, alluvial,
and fracture-filling and cave deposits (Fig. 2-46).
In Vietnam, the placers are proximal to the
main primary deposits of ruby and colored sapphires
in marble. They are located in the Luc Yen and Yen
Bai provinces in the Red River shear zone area and
in the Nghe An province in the Bu Kang
metamorphic dome in central Vietnam (Pham et al.
2004). They are in Luc Yen, An Phu, Khoang
Thong, and Nuoc Ngap (Luc Yen district), in Truc
Lau, Yen Thai, Tan Huong, Tan Dong, Hoa Cuong,
and Tran Yen (Yen Bai district), and Quy Hop and
Quy Chau (Nghe An district). The oxygen isotopic
study of the ruby and sapphire crystals shows that
the majority of these corundum have a į18O range
between 15.5 and 22.3‰‰ (Fig. 2-47), that overlaps
the worldwide oxygen isotopic range defined for
ruby hosted in marble (Giuliani et al. 2005; Fig.
2-40). Four sapphires respectively of blue, grey and
yellow color are in the field of desilicated and skarn
vein type in marble.
Placer deposits in alkali basalt fields: the case of
the French Massif Central: gem blue-green-yellow
sapphire and ruby crystals are mostly recovered
from alluvial deposits in continental basaltic fields
(Hughes 1997, Sutherland 1996, Abduriyim et al.
2012). The large corundum-bearing regions are
located in Australia, the United States, Laos,
Thailand, Cambodia and Madagascar. In France,
alluvial sapphire is located in the French Massif
Central and has been known since the Middle Ages
and exploited up to the 19th century (Forestier
1993). The sapphire occurrences are located within
the volcanic areas of the Chaîne de la Sioule,
Chaîne des Puys, Mont Dore, Cantal, Devès and
Velay (Lacroix 1901, Gaillou et al. 2010). The
sapphires crystals are either transparent to
dominantly pastel blue, pastel lilac and colorless, or
 GIULIANI ET AL. –– GEM CORUNDUM

FIG. 2-45. Oxygen isotopic ranges of corundum from the giant placer of Ilakaka (Madagascar) with a special focus on the
origin of the blue sapphires. These sapphires are separated in two distinct groups: one group dominated by rutile needle
inclusions (reported as needle in the figure), the other by bands and growth structures (reported as band in the figure). The
oxygen isotopic composition of blue sapphire from Ilakaka are compared with the oxygen isotopic ranges defined for
corundum types of deposit worldwide (Giuliani et al. 2005, 2007a, 2009, 2012a; Yui et al. 2003, 2006, 2008) and for
colored sapphires of primary deposits from Madagascar. The oxygen isotopic data are reported in the conventional delta
notation (į18O, expressed in per mil, ‰‰) relative to V––SMOW (Vienna Standard Mean Ocean Water). Color in diamonds
represent color for ruby (in red) and colored sapphires (others). White diamonds represent colorless sapphires.
blue, deep blue, greenish, greyish, yellowish, provides an additional argument for a magmatic
pinkish, and bronze colored but milky. The O origin. (2) A second group, with an isotopic range
isotope composition of the sapphires ranges between 7.6 and 13.9‰‰ (n = 9), suggests a
between 4.4 and 13.9‰‰ (Fig. 2-48). Two distinct metamorphic sapphire source such as biotite schist
groups have been defined (Giuliani et al. 2009): (1) in gneiss or skarn. They are metamorphic sapphires
the first with a restricted isotopic range between 4.4 from granulite which were transported to the surface
and 6.8‰‰ (n = 22; mean į18O = 5.6 ±0.7‰‰) falls by the basaltic magma.
within the worldwide range defined for blue-green-
yellow sapphires related to basaltic gem fields (3.0 Placer deposits in sedimentary fields: the case of
< į18O < 8.2‰‰, n = 150), and overlaps the range Ilakaka (Madagascar): the Ilakaka mining district
defined for magmatic sapphires in syenite (4.4 < is located in the Isalo massif, between the cities of
į18O < 8.3‰‰, n = 29; Fig 2-45). The presence of Sakaraha and Ilakaka (Fig. 2-32). Other districts are
inclusions of columbite-group minerals, pyrochlore, found north of Ilakaka and near Bezaha, 120 km
Nb-bearing rutile, and thorite in these sapphires southwest of Ilakaka. The alluvial giant deposit was

91
 GIULIANI ET AL. –– GEM CORUNDUM

FIG. 2-46. Main types of gem corundum deposits in the Mogok area (modified after Themelis 2008). The model represents the
deposits of Dattaw (left) and Thurein-taung (right). The primary deposits are metamorphic or magmatic. The secondary
deposits are residual, colluvial, alluvial, fracture-filling and cave deposits. Drawing courtesy of T. Themelis.

discovered in late 1998 on the border of Route
National 7, and the rush of locals and immigrants
resulted in the discovery of several mining zones
between Ilakaka and Sakaraha, including Sakalama,
Ampasimamitaka, Vohimena, Bekily, and
Manombo Vaovao. The deposits are generally
exploited by illegal miners using 1 m diameter
shafts reaching up to 20 m deep with windlass
systems, washing gravels in pans and removing the
stones from the sieves by hand. The deposits are
sometimes exploited in open pits following benches
to reach the mineralized zones.
The deposits produce very fine blue, pink,
blue-violet, violet, purple, orange, yellow, and
translucent sapphire crystals along with zircon,
alexandrite, topaz, garnet, spinel, andalusite, and
tourmaline. In 2002, test mining analysis by the
Gem Mining Resources company during 38 days of
production resulted in approximately 43 kg of
gemstones, comprising 4% semi-precious stones,
volcanic glasses, and ruby, and 96% sapphire
comprising 58% pink sapphire, 30% blue sapphire,
and 8% other colored sapphire (e.g., yellow, orange,
'padparadscha', green). The operators exploited the
alluvial terraces of the Ilakaka and Benahy rivers,
which lie on the Isalo sandstone. The terraces
resulted from the erosion and stripping of the
Triassic sandstone. The deposit is not well
consolidated and is composed of quartziferous sands
which contain pebbles of ferruginous laterite,
rounded blocks of Isalo sandstone and quartz, and
quartzite and schist pebbles (Garnier et al. 2004a).
On the Benahy River, two levels of gemmiferous
terraces locally called "lalambato" are found (Fig.
2-49). The bottom terrace is the richest in
gemstones, with concentrations reaching up to 5 to 7
g/m3 for the mechanized exploitations. The
concentration in some terraces exploited by washing
and hand recovery reached about 10 g/m3. They
correspond to deep potholes or sinuous meanders
which are not accessible for mechanical
exploitation. River sands, sampled in the stream
bed, contain between 0.2 and 2.1 g/m3 of sapphire.
This alluvial concentration results from the erosion
of old terraces.
The placers of Ilakaka represent accumulation
of ruby and colored sapphire from different origins
(Fig. 2-45). Microscopic examination of 30 ruby
and 58 blue sapphire crystals has shown that all
rubies have the same gemological features, i.e.,
growth, twinning, color bands and solid inclusions,
but that blue sapphires defined two different
mineralogical groups.

92
 GIULIANI ET AL. –– GEM CORUNDUM
FIG. 2-47. Oxygen isotopic composition of ruby and
sapphire originating from placer deposits of the Luc
Yen and Yen Bai mining district (north Vietnam). The
oxygen isotopic range of these gem corundum samples
overlaps that of ruby and sapphire hosted in marble
from the same area (Giuliani et al. 2007a). The data are
reported in the conventional delta notation (į18O,
expressed in per mil, ‰‰) relative to SMOW (Vienna
Standard Mean Ocean Water).
Ruby crystals are within the same į18O range,
between 2.6 and 3.8‰‰ (į18Omean = 3.5 ±0.5‰‰, n =
4). The isotopic range corresponds to that defined
for primary ruby from mafic and ultramafic rocks
from southern Madagascar (range 2.5 to 6.8‰‰;
Giuliani et al. 2007b). The Phanerozoic sedimentary
sequences and the Isalo Group underlie the northern
part of the Vohibory unit, where intercalations or
complexes of mafic and ultramafic rocks hosting
ruby and pink sapphire are common in amphibolitic
and aluminous gneiss (Rakotondrazafy et al. 2008).
The erosion of the Vohibory unit during the Late
Carboniferous to Middle Jurassic contributed to the
concentration of ruby in the basin. A proximal
93
source for ruby in Ilakaka from the Vohibory region
is likely.
Inclusions and UV––Visible spectroscopy
allowed for the differentiation of two distinct groups
in the blue sapphire crystals from Ilakaka (Dunaigre
& Giuliani, unpublished data). One group
dominated by rutile needle inclusions, the other by
bands and growth structures. Two samples from the
"band" group with į18O values of respectively 7.4
and 10.1‰‰, and two from the "needle" group with
į18O values of respectively 9.1 and 13.6‰‰, are
compared to previous data obtained on blue
sapphire (į18O value of 3.8‰‰; Giuliani et al.
2007b), and considering the different types of
primary corundum deposit from southern
Madagascar (Rakotondrazafy et al. 2008).
The į18O value of 3.8‰‰ suggests two possible
geological origins for sapphire (Fig 2-45): (1) BGY
sapphire in alkali basalt; and (2) biotite schist in
gneiss. The chemical composition of the sapphire
has shown that it was incompatible with a basaltic
origin, a type which has not been reported in
southern Madagascar. Therefore the second
hypothesis is highly probable as blue sapphire in
biotite schist has been described in the Ionaivo
deposit (with į18O = 3.3‰‰; Uher et al. 2012)
located south of Sahambano deposit (Fig. 2-32).
The band group contains inclusions of
carbonate, phlogopite, graphite, and garnet. The
į18O value of 7.4 and 9.1‰‰ suggests two possible
geological origins for sapphire (Fig. 2-45): biotite
schist deposit which results from the metasomatism
of feldspathic granulitic gneiss (į18O between 3.3
and 9.0‰‰ for Ionaivo, Sahambano, Ambinda sud,
and Zazafotsy deposits; see the section above:
Metamorphic deposits, p. 58), and skarn in calc-
silicate rocks and marble (į18O between 7.7 and
10.7‰‰ for Andranondambo deposit). Carbonate and
phlogopite are found in sapphire from the
Andronandambo skarn (Schwarz et al. 1996) but
graphite and garnet have never been described.
Nevertheless, graphite is a mineral which is often
found in marble and gneiss from the Tranomaro
Formation which hosts the sapphire and U––Th
mineralization (Pili et al. 1997; Rakotondrazafy et
al. 1996). Phlogopite, calcite and garnet are
described in the sapphire from the biotite schist but
graphite is lacking (Ralantoarison et al. 2006).
The needle-dominant group contains rutile and
spinel which are also characteristic inclusions of
sapphire hosted in schist-type deposits such as
Sahambano and Zazafotsy. Besides, the į18O of
9.1‰‰ for one sapphire fits with the isotopic range
 GIULIANI ET AL. –– GEM CORUNDUM

FIG. 2-48. Oxygen isotope values of colored sapphires found in placers within the volcanic fields of the French Massif Central
(Giuliani et al. 2009), with reference to the worldwide oxygen isotopic database of corundum reported by Giuliani et al.
(2005, 2007a, 2009). The data are reported in the conventional delta notation (į18O, expressed in per mil, ‰‰) relative to V––
SMOW (Vienna Standard Mean Ocean Water).
SUMMARY
defined for the Zazafotsy deposit (Fig 2-45). The
The primary deposits can be divided into two
other crystal with į18O of 13.6‰‰ is close to the
groups, depending on their geological setting,
isotopic range defined for blue to colorless gem
magmatic versus metamorphic (Fig. 2-12A, B).
sapphires associated with skarn veins in marble
Corundum in magmatic deposits is found in plutonic
from Andronandambo (į18O between 14.0 to
and volcanic rocks. In plutonic rocks, corundum is
15.6‰‰). Nevertheless, its origin cannot be
associated with rocks deficient in silica and their
accurately determined.
pegmatites, especially syenite and nepheline syenite.
The oxygen isotopic composition of blue
Corundum is found also as an accessory mineral in
sapphire from Ilakaka deposits shows the
porphyry copper and kimberlite deposits. In
complexity of the determination of origin for
volcanic rocks, sapphire and ruby are found in
corundum in placer. Nevertheless, the two
continental alkali basalt extrusions. Corundum is
gemological groups of blue sapphire from Ilakaka
found as xenocrysts in lava flows and plugs of
are metamorphic in origin. This result fits with the
subalkaline olivine basalt, high alumina alkali basalt
chemical fingerprinting and the types of solid
and basanite. The sapphire is blue-green-yellow and
inclusions found in the sapphire crystals. But at least
the deposits only have economic importance
three geological sources have probably contributed
because advanced weathering in tropical regions
to the blue sapphire concentration in the Ilakaka
concentrates sapphire in eluvial and especially large
deposit (biotite schist, skarn in marble or calc-
alluvial placers. Sapphires also occur in alkaline
silicate rocks, and skarn vein in marble). However
basic lamprophyre dikes of biotite monchiquite. The
there is currently no correlation between the
ruby is metamorphic in origin and occurs as
gemological groups and the isotopic composition
xenocrysts or megacrysts in xenoliths in alkali
and origin of the sapphire crystals.
basalt.

94
 GIULIANI ET AL. –– GEM CORUNDUM

FIG. 2-49. Lithological section of the gem corundum terraces and aspect of the pebble levels exploited in the Vohimena Talo
placer, Ilakaka district, Madagascar. L: lutite, A: arenite, R: rudite (Garnier et al. 2004a).
The metamorphic deposits are hosted by is also linked to the intrusion of pegmatites and/or
different kinds of rocks of variable grade of granitoid bodies into marble or mafic to ultramafic
metamorphism. Among these deposits, marble rocks, like the famous Kashmir sapphire deposits of
represents the most important source of ruby, such Sumjam. Gem corundum forms by fluid––rock
as the famous pigeon blood-colored rubies from interaction and metasomatism of the host rock
Mogok in Myanmar. They are found from (desilicated pegmatite and skarn).
Afghanistan in central Asia to northern Vietnam in The secondary deposits are sedimentary and of
southeast Asia. The other metamorphic deposits are detrital origin. Several types are distinguished:
hosted by gneiss, anatexite, granulite (gneiss, colluvial, eluvial, deluvial and alluvial placers, and
metashale, charnockite, cordieritite), and mafic to beach ridges. The minerals contained in eluvial
ultramafic rocks. New discoveries of ruby hosted in placer deposits are little transported and the parental
amphibolite (deposits of Greenland and rocks of the gemstones can thus be constrained. In
Mozambique) will supply the demand on the market the other cases, the placer deposits can form by the
in terms of quantity and quality in the near future. weathering of paleoplacers and transport of the
Finally, the formation of ruby and sapphire deposits minerals. In some cases, gemstones coming from

95
 GIULIANI ET AL. –– GEM CORUNDUM
several types of deposits are mixed in a single basin
(Tunduru, Songea, Ilakaka, Didy, Ratnapura,
Elahera, etc.). The study of gemological
characteristics, solid and fluid inclusions, as well as
the geochemical and isotopic signatures of these
gemstones are useful techniques for determining
their geological origins.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors wish to thank the Mineralogical
Association of Canada, GET UMR 5563 CNRS-
IRD-CNES-UPS in Toulouse, CRPG UMR 7358
CNRS-UL and GéoRessources UMR 7359 CNRS-
UL in Nancy, Geological Survey of Pakistan,
Institute of Geological Sciences in Hanoi,
University of Antananarivo, University of
Kathmandu, SUERC Glasgow, School of Earth
Sciences Leeds, University of Montpellier 2,
MNHN-UMR 7160 Paris, Ministère des Mines de
Madagascar, and T. Themelis for the Mogok
illustration. The authors thank very much Dr. David
Turner for his very carefully and constructive
review, and Dr. Rob Raeside and Dr. Lee Groat for
final reviews and editorial efforts.
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