Geographical Journal (Journal of the Royal Geographical Society): Volume VIII, No. 5 [‎14v] (31/154)

434
JOURNEY ROUND SIAM.
A rich spot, however, in this province is at the sapphire mines
situated up amongst the hills at the sources of the Khonhuri stream.
It is a carious geological circumstance that a range of hills forms a dis
tinct line of demarcation between the sapphire mines at Pailin and the
ruby mines at Nawong, in the province of Krat. Sapphires are found on
the northern slope of these hills, and rubies on the southern. The mines
are of two kinds, surface and deep. The former are 2 or 3 feet deep,
or, in fact, sometimes the surface of the ground is merely scraped with
a piece of iron or stick, carefully powdered to bits with the hand, and
stones picked out. The other mines are from 15 to 20 feet deep, and
have generally an aperture of 44 feet square. The upper stratum of
earth is loam, then loamy and clayey, and finally the ruby or sapphire
layer is reached with a thickness varying from 4 to 18 inches. This
layer is hoisted up with a rude crane and basket, and carried down to
the nearest stream, where it is washed and carefully examined in little
flat baskets with closely woven meshes. From the waterworn appear
ance of the fragments of rocks embedded in the layer, it would seem
that the precious stones are not found in the original matrix, but have
been washed down from the hills. A British company was formed some
years ago to work the ruby mines, but, as the Burmese miners resented
the right of the company of insisting upon all the stones being handed
over at a price fixed by the company’s expert, they left the mines
in large numbers. No other class of men can be found to work in these
pestilential and malarious jungles, and thus the production of stones
and the existence of the company gradually came to an end. In 1895
another British company, the Siam Exploring Co., Ltd., received from
the King of Siam the exclusive right of working the sapphire mines at
Pailin, and they also bought up the rights of the former company at
the ruby mines. The entire mining-field is thus in their hands, and
there is no doubt but that it is a most valuable concession, as the annual
output of stones from this region is very large. The mining district at
Pailin covers an area of 6 miles long by H miles in breadth, and large
portions of this are still untouched, and are doubtless gem-bearing.
Immense quantities of cheap stones are found, but some of the Siam
sapphires are as good as any that are brought into the market. The
rubies do not bear so good a reputation. They are nearly all tinged
with a dark “clarety” colour instead of that clear pigeon-blood hue
so prized in this valuable stone. The difficulty that the company
has to overcome—and it is by no means a small difficulty—is to get
hold of the stones. In such an extensive area supervision of the
miners is almost impossible, and, besides, the Shans, who up to the
present have been working each man for himself, will not labour for
wages, nor will they naturally give up good stones when they find
While at Battambong, the governor, who is a frank, genial young