KNOWLEDGE. 



January, 1915. 



(see Figure 12), showing the exact size of the 

 stone. 



Previously to the annexation of Burma by the 

 British Government, the information available to 

 Europeans of the ruby-bearing area was extremely 

 limited, and was dependent upon native traditions 

 and unreliable accounts brought home by a few 

 venturesome travellers to the wild region in which 

 were the deposits of the precious mineral. It was, 

 however, known that for generations the ruby 

 district had been the property of the kings of 

 Burma, the last of whom was the notorious Theebaw, 

 and that the mines were worked by the natives 

 under a system of licences granted for payment, 

 and under certain other conditions, and that some 

 of the licences were hereditary. 



Forfeiture to the Crown of any rubies that were 

 found over a certain weight individually was one 

 of the stipulations of the mining licences, and it 

 was suspected that in consequence large stones 

 were broken up by those who found them in order 

 to avoid being obliged to give them up. It is 

 probable, however, that the native miners were 

 unjustly suspected ; for, from our knowledge^ained 

 of the industry since it has been under European 

 control, we know that even moderately large rubies 

 are of extremely rare occurrence. 



Burma came imder British control in 1885, and 

 soon afterwards several European syndicates en- 

 deavoured to obtain concessions from the Govern- 

 ment to exploit the famous gem-bearing district. 

 The tract of country in which the rubies occur 

 lies to the east of the Irrawaddy River, and is 

 about four hundred miles square in extent, em- 

 bracing the town of Mogok, in the eastern part 

 of it. 



In 1889 the Indian Government decided that the 

 concession to search for the rubies should be put 

 up for public tender, and a British syndicate 

 was successful in obtaining it by making the 

 highest bid. This syndicate soon afterwards sold 

 their mining rights to a company entitled the 

 Burma Ruby Mines, Limited, which has carried 

 on the work ever since. 



The early days of the enterprise were beset with 

 difficulties, the chief of which was how to get rid 

 of the water which fills the gem pits as soon as 

 they are dug out, and which comes as an inundation 

 at certain flood times of the year. The Europeans 

 suffered terribly from the bad climate, scarcity and 

 poorness of food, and the want of proper housing 

 accommodation. 



Moreover, it was found that those localities 

 which could be worked with a moderate amoimt 

 of ease were already being worked by native 

 licences, or were under cultivation ; and, as it was 

 not permissible to disturb the existing agriculture 

 and mining interests of the inhabitants, the com- 

 pany had no alternative but to turn their attention 

 to the wild and unexplored parts of the country, 

 which consisted chiefly of steep mountain sides 

 covered with dense jungle, the removal of which 



was a lengthy and laborious task, attended with 

 considerable danger. 



Again and again large areas were cleared of 

 jungle, only to be abandoned, and thus the scene 

 of operations was constantly removed from one 

 locality to another, either on account of the dearth 

 of rubies, or because of the difficulties of carrying 

 on the work proving insurmountable. As no 

 amount of experience of mining gained in other 

 countries was of value under the conditions existing 

 in the Burma ruby area, it was necessary to make 

 a great many trials of different methods, necessi- 

 tating long delay and great expenditure of energy, 

 before a solution of the problem was found. 



Finally, however, success was met by attacking 

 the Mogok Valley by means of a very large staff 

 of coolies to deal with the ground on an extensive 

 scale ; but in order to do this, it was necessary to 

 buy up the rights of those natives who were already 

 in possession of the desirable places. 



According to a report by Professor J. W. Judd, 

 C.B., the rubies of Burma are found " associated 

 with garnet, spinel, and graphite in beds of coarse 

 gravel, and embedded more or less in crystalline 

 limestone, which exists alternating with gneissic 

 and schistose rocks." 



The ruby-bearing stratum, which is knowri locally 

 as " byon," is situated from five to twenty feet 

 from the surface, and it may be of any thickness, 

 from a few inches to twelve feet or so. From 

 ancient times it has been extracted by the native 

 miners working under licence by merely digging pits 

 in the valleys and cuttings of various depths in 

 the hillside, whilst much is obtainable from the 

 natural caves and caverns of the mountains. 



The methods of the company are similar, except 

 that the excavations are very much more extensive, 

 because of the introduction of up-to-date means 

 of hauling and pumping (see Figures 6 and 7) . 



The largest mine is about one thousand two hun- 

 dred feet long, with an average width of five hundred 

 and forty-nine feet and a depth of forty-five feet. 



After the earth has been dug out it is loaded on to 

 trucks, which are hauled to a screening apparatus, 

 through which it falls into a washing machine (see 

 Figure 10). This machine is armed with rows of steel 

 teeth set in revolving arms, which churn the earth, 

 now in the condition of thick mud, so that the clay 

 and light gravel flow over into a pan, leaving the 

 heavy gravel containing the rubies behind. The 

 residue is then conveyed in trucks with locked 

 covers to another piece of apparatus, consisting of 

 screens of different grades of meshing, from which 

 it falls into the pulsator (see Figures 8 and 9). 



This machine still further divides the material 

 into that which is useless and that containing the 

 rubies. The former is tipped into trucks for 

 removal, and the latter falls into a locked cabinet, 

 to be afterwards sorted by the company's officers 

 (see Figure 11). 



This elaborate system of washing and sorting 

 precludes the possibility of any ruby being lost 



