Before:   Digging for sapphires right up to the side of the road.

After:   The same plot a couple of years later, filled in and used for growing fruit.

Before:   An open cast digging during the dry season. No water, no digging.

After:   Six months later, during the monsoon season, the pit has been filled with soil from a new digging.

The edge of the filled pit showing how close to the house they came.

The soil is loaded into a rotating drum and washed using a high pressure hose. The larger rocks roll out the front of the rotating drum, the smaller pieces including the sapphires are separated and drained into a pit next to the drum. These are then pumped up to the pulsating jig outside the pit.

Another view into the pit.

The digger loading soil into the rotating drum.

The pulsating jig outside the pit. The soil and smaller pieces of gravel are pumped up from the pit to the jig. The gem baring gravel collects in the jig's compartments.

At the end of the day the pumps under the jig are shut down and the miners climb onto the jig to sort through the gravel.

Raking through the gravel and picking out the sapphires by hand.

Found one ...

Iron-stained sapphire crystals recovered from the gravel. The types of sapphires are black stars, gold stars, green, orange & blue sapphires.

A green sapphire crystal.

A jig with two sorting compartments, used on larger mining operations.

A small pit dug out using a mechanical digger then worked on by hand. Two workers dig the soil and one worker sorts through the soil with a knife and picks out the sapphires.

Raking through the soil with a knife.

The pockets of gray soil are where the sapphires are found.

 One of the miners showing me the stones they have found.

Peering down into a traditional style gem pit. These types of pits have become a rarity today with the arrival of modern mechanical mining techniques.

Foot holes are dug into the sides of the pit. The whole os too small for a ladder to be used.

Dealers inspecting parcels of rough sapphires.

A dark green sapphire crystal from Bang Kacha.

Splitting a sapphire crystal before cutting.

The sapphire crystal after splitting.

Inspecting the crystal after splitting.

A bucket full of sapphire crystals after cleaning.

Inspecting a large green sapphire crystal with a fibre optic light.

A large piece of black spinel or nin.

A large golden sapphire crystal.

Another open cast mining operation.

Washing the soil in a rotating drum.

Looking into the rotating drum.

The owner of the mine discussing his production with me. 

The pumping machinery used to pump the gravel up to pulsating jig. This worker must have got the short straw, spending the day in the pit keeping the pump in the correct position.

Another shot of the pump. Here you can see the water containing the gravel being washed from the drum into the pit. The pump siphons up the water and gravel and pumps it up to the jig.

The two pumps under the jig.

The water and gravel pumped into the top of the jig.

Chocolate coloured water pouring down off the jig into a previously dug out pit.

Another shot of the jig.

The jig from above.

Matching orange coloured Bang Kacha sapphires in a bracelet.

These three ladies run a side of the road food stand in the centre of town and make very tasty food.