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Bang Kacha Pictures - Page 2 |
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 |  |  | |    | |  | | 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. | | | |
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