(The SAP sapphire mine main washing plant in 2005, it was then still in operation with more than 100 trucks bringing gem gravels to wash every day.)
Photo: V. Pardieu / AIGS, 2005)

The interest about the SAP sapphire mine in Kanchanaburi is that it was a large scale sapphire mining operation believed to be for years the world largest sapphire mine. The SAP investors were former tin mining entrepreneurs from Kanchanaburi region. Due to the low prices for tin at the end of the 1980's and the new sapphire finding near Bo Phloi in Kanchanaburi in 1978, they decided to move from tin mining to sapphire mining as they could use for sapphire the same equipment they were using for tin.

SAP Mining Co. Ltd started its operations in September 1987. The deposit is located in the Lum Ta Phoen Basin which was covered by lavas coming from the fault zone in Ma Kah Creek about 3 million years ago. There sapphires, black spinel, pyroxene, red garnet and zircons were mined under 7 to nearly 20 meters of overburden.

What was interesting at SAP is that from the beginning of the sapphire mining was planned in order for the land to find a use after sapphire mining will be finished in the area. The water used at the mine was processed with several sedimentation basins before to be released and a several projects including agriculture, fish farms, golf and resort were put in place for the day sapphire mining will not be anymore profitable.

During our last visit in Jan 2010 we were informed by the SAP staff there that sapphire mining had completely stopped in 2009. Now the only mining activity remaining is for construction and decoration material and the company is focusing on the extension of its "Blue sapphire" golf resort. A clever way to use the former mine landscape with its numerous deep lakes and hills.

(The remaining mining activity at SAP mining construction material. At the back a bouddhist temple and its crematorium and the basalt rich hills from which the sapphire rich lava once flowed several millions years ago.
Photo: V. Pardieu / GIA Laboratory Bangkok, 2010)

We went to visit the former mining area. We could see that the former washing plant, which was still in use in 2009 when the author last visited the area, was now abandoned and that there were some important works all around the area in order to develop it into new directions. The area was still beautiful and green with many birds looking to enjoy the lakes and the water.

(An Indochina tiger at Kanchanaburi tiger temple... What future for them there and in the wild?
Photo: V. Pardieu / GIA Laboratory Bangkok, 2010)

Finally after lunch we decided to return to Kanchanaburi and as we still had few hours we decided to visit what has become one of the most famous attractions in Kanchanaburi the Indochina Tiger conservation project at Wat Pa Luangta Bua Yannasampanno.

It was a way to prepare ourselves for the coming Year of the Tiger and finally see with our own eye this temple and its tigers. With its growing success entrance fees had become much higher and the project is now becoming quite controversial. As usual the best way to get an idea was to go there and see with our own eyes. The difficulties the monks are facing seem to be very important: How to feed the tigers and to keep them healthy? To give them a decent place to stay? But may be most of all: How to handle the success of the temple? How to give to the hundreds of tourists visiting the temple everyday what they want? Most of them have no idea about how to get close to a tiger and see them as big cute teddy bears... It is obviously not easy to get enough experienced and trained staff to do that, and of course obviously the temple needs new infrastructures to handle its success: Entrance fees are going up and at the same time controversies about greedy monks making money with tigers... Not easy. Not much about gemology here but it was an interesting visit nevertheless...

So to all of you, happy "Chinese New Year" and have a great year of the Tiger!

(A view over the mining operation as we saw it at SAP mine. The machines were then mainly removing the overburden to be able to work later th sapphire rich layer located 20 meters deep.
Photo: V. Pardieu / GIA Laboratory Bangkok, 2009)

The mine is much less active as in the past and the former mining pits were turned into lakes and their surroundings into a lovely golf and a week end resort. We could nevertheless witness some mechanical mining with excavators and trucks, but the miners told us that now due to the high cost of gas and to the fact that the best places were already mined, most of the income from the mining was not coming anymore from the sapphires but from the sand and the other construction material. Nevertheless, sapphire mining was still active and a huge washing plant was processing the gem rich ground bring by the trucks.

(A security guard is watching the workers picking sapphires on the belt at SAP mine, Kanchanaburi.
Photo: V. Pardieu / GIA Laboratory Bangkok, 2009)

Further at the mine sorting house a group of workers were sorting the sapphire rich gravels on a mechanical belt... Besides sapphires the mine is know to produce a lot a black opaque spinel (locally called "nin") and some zircons. We saw few sapphires that day as they were then sorting the big gravels: Most of the mine was reported to be currently composed of small stones. But Kanchanaburi is known to have produced many sapphires over 50 carats.

(A French girl and a Thai stone: Raphaelle Delmotte holding a small blue sapphire from Kanchanaburi.
Photo: V. Pardieu / GIA Laboratory Bangkok, 2009)

After that visit we returned to Kanchanaburi and visited a little the area around the famous bridge over the River Kwai. Besides few genuine gemstones a multitude of vendors were selling mainly imitations and synthetics were, a real nightmare/wonderland for gemologists willing to train their skills!
All the best,