JADE (JADEITE, NEPHRITE) DEPOSITS
Jade is the gem name for mineral aggregates composed of
either or both of two different minerals, Jadeite and Nephrite.
Jadeite is a sodium-rich aluminous pyroxene; nephrite is a
fine-grained, calcium-rich, magnesium, iron, aluminous
amphibole. All jade is composed of fine-grained, highly
intergrown, interlocking crystals of one or both of these
minerals. Though neither mineral is very hard (6-7), jade is
one of the toughest gem minerals known because of the
i n t e r g r o w n n a t u r e o f t h e i n d i v i d u a l c r y s t a l s.
Most jade on the market is composed of nephrite; jadeite jade is quite
rare and in its emerald-green, translucent form is referred to as
Imperial Jade or "gem jade". A small amount of Cr in jadeite
accounts for the color of imperial jade. Other color-based names for
jadeite jade are Yunan Jade, for a uniquely appearing dark green,
semitranslucent jade, Apple Jade for apple (yellowish green) green
jade, and Moss-in-Snow for white jade with vivid green spots and
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Nephrite and jadeite jade ranges in color from a somewhat greasyappearing, white ("mutton fat jade") to dark and light shades of
green, gray, blue-green, lavender, yellow, orange, brown, reddishbrown, and black. An important dark green variety of nephrite is
sometimes known as "spinach jade". The chromophore in all nephrite
jades is usually Fe. Nephrite jade is usually opaque to translucent in
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The name jade has been, and continues to be, applied to a
variety of materials that superficially or closely resemble jade but
are not composed of either jadeite or nephrite. Some of the
problem can undoubtedly be traced to cultural and historical
differences in word usage. In China, for example, the word jade
has traditionally been applied not only to nephrite and jadeite
jade, but to green serpentine and soapstone (talc) whose
appearance closely resemble true jade. Common misnomers
and the materials they represent are: "Korean" Jade for
serpentine or gem serpentine (bowenite), "Indian" Jade for
aventurine, "Mexican Jade" for green-dyed calcite, "Transvaal
Jade" for green hydrogrossular garnet, "Amazon or Colorado
Jade" for amazonite (blue-green or green) feldspar and "Oregon
o r S w i s s J a d e " f o r g r e e n c h a l c e d o n y.
Jadeite is a mineral that is restricted in occurrence to certain
metamorphic rocks that have undergone metamorphism at high
pressures but relatively low temperatures. Jadeite jade is found
exclusively as nodular or lens-shaped masses in serpentinite.
Nephrite jade, which is also a product of metamorphism (and
fluid infiltration), does not apparently require the very special P-T
conditions of jadeite and is much more widespread. It is also
found in association with serpentinite in all known localities.
Because of its extreme toughness in contrast to the weaker
material it forms in (serpentine), jade is nearly always found as
weathered boulders and cobbles in stream deposits or glacial
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Historically and presently important jade producing localities are:
Burma, near Tawmaw and Hpakon
Turkestan (central Asia between Iran and Siberia)
Canada, British Columbia Southern Frazier River drainage,
USA.,Wyoming, near Lander; since 1936 , Alaska, in Kobuk
River Watershed at Jade Mountain
New Zealand, South Island
Others: Poland (white nephrite); Taiwan; Monterey Co.,
California (poor quality jadeite); Guatemala (green
jadeite); Japan; U.S.S.R. (near Lake Baikal, green
nephrite).
While jadeite is mined today primarily in Myanmar, small
quantities can be found in Guatemala. Although neolithic jadeite
axes were found in Europe, it is not known where this
prehistoric jadeite was mined, although it is possible that the
m a t e r i a l c a m e f r o m a d e p o s i t i n t h e A l p s.
Nephrite is mined in Canada, Australia, the United States, and
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http://www.highestoffer.com/jade.html
The Emerald Buddha, the sacred image that is enshrined at Wat
Phra Kaeo in Bangkok, Thailand, was carved from a solid block of
b e a u t i f u l http://www.escati.com/emerald_buddha.htm
g r e e n
j a d e i t e.
The ancient jade carved in China was what we today call
nephrite jade: an amphibolite mineral. (Interestingly enough, the
word nephrite comes from the Greek word for kidney, nephros, a
bit more scholarly version of the same thing.) In the 19th Century
, it was discovered that the material from the new world was not
the same mineral as the jade from China. The mineral from
Central America, a pyroxene, was called jadeite to distinguish it
from the The Chinese knew about jadeite, travelers had brought
back some jadeite from Burma as early as the thirteenth century.
But China was turning inward at that time and this foreign
Kingfisher Stone, as they called it, referring to the brightly colored
feathers of the bird, was not considered to be real jade. It only
became popular in the eighteenth and nineteenth century when
t r a d e w i t h B u r m a http://www.highestoffer.com/jade.html
o p e n e d u p a g a i n.
Although nephrite jade is
China’s original “Stone of
Heaven,” fine jadeite, as in
this matched pair of semitransparent bangles (53.4
mm in interior diameter,
9.8 mm thick), is the most
sought-after of jades in the
Chinese community today.
http://www.palagems.com/
burma_jade.htm
JADE AND MAW-SIT-SIT OF
MYANMAR
Map of Upper Burma showing
the jade mines in the far north.
Maw-sit-sit is mined in the
v i c i n i t y o f H p a k a n.
(Courtesy of Richard Hughes)
JADEITE
variety Imperial Jade
Na(Al,Fe)Si2O6
Tawmaw, Myanmar
http://www.nhm.org/research/minsci/
Translucent bright green jadeite, called imperial jade, is
among the most highly prized of all jades. Jade is an
excellent material for carving because of its extreme
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Size / Weight: 42x22x3 mm / 25.11 carats
Portions of this article originally appeared in Gems &
Gemology, Vol. 36, No. 1, pp. 2–26.
http://www.palagems.com/burma_jade.htm
An uncut jade cobble of Burma.
A “cousin” to jade, maw-sit-sit is
an attractive ornamental stone that
is an intergrowth mainly of albite,
clinochlore, kosmochlor, chromian
jadeite, and eckermannitic
amphibole. These two maw-sit-sit
cabochons weigh 9.87 ct (oval)
a n d
8.48 c t.
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Maw-sit-sit may be distinguished
from jadeite and nephrite by its
appearance as well as its physical
and optical properties. It has a
refractive index that ranges from
1.52 (most common) to 1.74 (least
common) depending on the
aggregate mineral composition. The
density is therefore also somewhat
variable, falling between 2.5–
3.5g/cm3. Most cutters agree that
the hardness falls between 6 and 7 Rough and cut maw-sit-sit
on the Mohs’ hardness scale.
Dr. Vince Manson, of the GIA, first suggested in 1979
(based on unpublished data) that maw-sit-sit might contain
ureyite, which is a sodium chromium pyroxene
(NaCrSi206) where chromium (Cr) replaces aluminum (Al)
in the chemical composition. Ureyite, which was named in
honor of Professor H.C. Urey, is today properly termed
kosmochlore. The name kosmochlore (green from outer
space) is derived from the fact that it was originally found
only in meteorites. Dr. Henri Hanni, of the SSEF, in Basel
Switzerland, noted in 1986 (based on unpublished data)
that maw-sit-sit is composed of six main components.
They are as follows: chromite, ureyite, chrome-jadeite,
symplektite, chrome amphibole, and a matrix of lighter
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M A W - S I T - S I T:
Geology
&
mining
Maw-sit-sit is an aggregate of numerous minerals found in
the famous jade mining region of Tawmaw in the
Himalayan foothills of northwestern Burma. This small
mining area lies approximately half a mile northwest of
the village of Namshamaw. The maw-sit-sit mining area
is found in part of what is known as the Namshamaw
dike. Maw-sit-sit, like the jadeite found in this region was
formed due to high pressure regional metamorphism. This
region lies on a plateau at an elevation of approximately
3000 feet within the Uru river drainage basin.
Maw-sit-sit is a byproduct of jadeite mining and is
quite rare in comparison to jade. The mining
techniques used today are similar to those
employed three decades ago when Dr. Gubelin
first stumbled upon the unique gem material, with
the exception of modern machinery used to
excavate and tunnel through the thick overburden.
Production has increased recently with demand,
however, fine quality maw-sit-sit remains difficult
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There are actually two types of maw-sit-sit being
found:
• Maw-sit-sit – the rich green hue with a
medium tone containing contrasting black streaks
or spots.
• Kyet Tayoe – the lighter apple green hue with a
fainter tone containing little or no black streaks or
spots.
Of the two, maw-sit-sit is certainly more
attractive. Until demand increases, it will be
difficult to determine the potential supply but thus
far it seems to still be quite a rare occurrence.
Sketch map
of Upper
Burma,
showing the
route to the
jade mines
at Hpakan.
Routes into Hpakan are virtually impassable during the
rainy season.
At the Ka Htan West mine,
located between Lonkin and
Tawmaw, large peridotite
boulders can be seen at the
base of this 15-m-high wall of
Uru Boulder Conglomerate.
In some areas at Tawmaw,
miners must dig deep shafts
through the overburden to
reach the jadeite dikes. Dirt
and gravel are removed by
a rudimentary winch-andb u c k e t s y s t e m.
Once a dike is exposed at Tawmaw, jackhammers are needed
to break the jadeite apart.
Mining of the Uru conglomerate is done in step-like claims approximately 5 m wide
that were originally separated by thin “walls.”
At Mamon and Maw-sisa in
particular, miners take
advantage of the seasons
when the river is high to
dive for jade. While a man
on land or a raft works the
crude air pump (which
resembles four bicycle
pumps strapped together),
this diver at Maw-sisa
searches the river bottom
for jade with the hose
between his teeth (inset).
At Nansibon, backhoes are
used to work the serpentinite
boulder conglomerate in
which jadeite boulders occur
in narrow horizontal
c o n c e n t r a t i o n s.
Thousands of workers remove
the dirt and gravel at Hpakangyi
to reach the Uru Conglomerate
and its promise of fine jadeite.
Using the most rudimentary of
carrying devices – two crudely
fashioned bamboo buckets –
this young miner leads a trail of
laborers up the steep path from
the bottom of the pit to a truck
that will carry the waste to the
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The color of luck
Miner with jade at the Uru
River tailings dump in the
center of Hpakan.
Top centre: This jadeite boulder shows the relatively thin skin and
potentially good color that is usually associated with “river jade.” Although
from the outside this appears to be a normal jadeite boulder, oxidants that
entered through cracks on the surface have produced a large area of
discoloration. Bottom left: Note the thick yellow “mist” around the jadeite
in this boulder of “mountain jade.” Right: A key advantage to jadeite
taken from in situ deposits is that the quality of the material is readily
The color of money
Examining jadeite in
Hpakan.
Leaving Las Vegas
A room with a view
U Tin Ngwe, who went
from taxi driver to jade
kingpin almost overnight,
stands atop a small
fortune of jade at his
H p a k a n h o m e.
In Mandalay, cutters still
use a board coated with a
mixture of carborundum
(of various grits) and hard
wax to shape cabochons.
They then polish jadeite
on bamboo lathes, often
without any abrasive
The Golden Hand
To get a better idea
of the quality of
color in this boulder,
the dealer places a
metal plate at the far
side of a small area
with potential and
then uses a penlight
t o i l l u m i n a t e i t..
“Windows” cut into
this otherwise
undistinguished
boulder from the
B u r m a J a d e Tr a c t
reveal the presence of
a rich green in the
jadeite beneath the
skin. Boulders such as
this are the source of
the fine green, orangered, and lavender
cabochons that are
much sought-after in
China and elsewhere.
In sawing jadeite boulders, center saw cuts (left) run the risk of cutting through a
valuable area. A better method (right) involves making shallow saw cuts from one
end (perhaps the thickness of a bangle, so that each slice can be used for
bangles/cabs) until one hits good color. Then the process is repeated from the
opposite end, again until good color is encountered. This defines the region of topgrade material. The process is repeated until the area of best color is isolated. These
cross-sections also illustrate a show point and an oxidation stain penetrating the
Vendors work
the morning
jadeite market
i n M a n d a l a y.
Foreign buyers examine rough jadeite at the 1992 gem emporium at
Rangoon’s Inya Lake Hotel. Such emporiums were once the only legal way
to do business in Burma, but today trading is possible via licensed private
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