There are many occurrences of emeralds in the world, in Austria, Brazil, Russia, Australia, South Africa, Southern Rhodeesia, India, and Norway. There are very few places in the world where the color and quality of the emerals surpasses those found in Columbia. Some emerals have even been found in the US, in North Carolina (I didn't know this).
Emeralds belong to the beryl family. Oh, and found some more information here... Opaque beryl (not gem quality) is common in several places in Brazil, Malagasy Republic and many other areas.
Beryl is a silicate rock.... Be3Al2Si6018 (Beryllium aluminum silicate)... so, it is quite possible that corundum and beryl occur together given their chemical properties.
Environments Characteristic of granitic rocks and pegmatites, where it sometimes occurs i enormous crystals. Also associated with quartz, spodumene, cassiterite, columbite, tantalite and other rare minerals.
So, the question is where is the source for the corundum and beryl to be found in these clay deposits? |
