JADEITE: OCCURRENCE IN BURMA 469 



boulders, which lie in the debris of the Urn river and are probably derived from some 

 unknown deposit iii situ in the neighbourhood of the river. 



The mineral has been obtained from the debris of the Uru river for a much longer 

 period than the primary deposit has been quarried. The boulders occur on the banks of a 

 portion of the river stretching for fifteen or twenty miles down stream from the village and 

 fort of Sanka. Above Sanka pebbles of jadeite are entirely absent, while below the stretch 

 of river just mentioned they are met with so rarely that searchers are scarcely repaid for 

 their trouble. The banks on each side of this stretch of the river have been worked 

 probably for hundreds of years, and the stone is not even yet exhausted. Pits to the depth 

 of 20 feet are sunk in the river alluvium at the foot of the hills which form the sides of the 

 valley. The material excavated out of these pits contains pebbles of jadeite, quartzite, 

 and other rocks. That in the bed of the river is brought up by divers. The pebbles of 

 jadeite are all much rounded, but vary very much in size: three men are said to have 

 been needed to remove one particular block, but boulders of such a size are found only 

 exceptionally. 



Good specimens of jadeite are also found, though rarely, in the red, clayey weathered 

 product called laterite, which occurs in the Uru valley. These stones have a colourless 

 nucleus enclosed in a red crust of a certain thickness. This red crust produces the effect of 

 a fine sheen, and is due to the penetration of iron oxide from the clay in which the pebbles 

 are embedded. Such stones, the colouring of which is quite permanent, are distinguished 

 as " red jadeite," and are much esteemed, especially by the Chinese, who pay high prices 

 for them. 



The occurrence in situ of jadeite in this region has been known since the end of 

 the 'seventies, having been discovered, probably by accident, about fifteen* years before 

 Dr. Noetling's visit. A quarry in the deposit at Tawmaw measures now about 100 yards 

 across, and gives employment to between 500 and 600 people of the Katshin race. 



The village of Tawmaw is habitable only during the dry season of the year ; it is 

 situated in latitude 25° 44' N. and longitude 96° 14' E. of Greenwich, six miles west of 

 Sanka and 1600 feet above the Uru river. The jadeite forms a moderately thick bed 

 in a little hill of dark green, or almost black, serpentine, which projects above the 

 surrounding Miocene sandstones. 



The labour of quarrying the jadeite is lightened by the practice of lighting fires on 

 the surface. The jadeite, heated to a high temperature, rapidly cools during the night, 

 and becomes cracked and fissured in all directions. The mass is thus broken up into blocks 

 of manageable size, which can be dealt with by the quarryman's hammer. In consequence 

 of this practice the jadeite obtained from the quarry is much inferior in quality to that 

 collected out of pits in the river-banks ; in spite of this fact, however, 90 per cent, of 

 the total yield is derived from the quarry, and only 10 per cent, from the river pebbles. 



The best of the material is sent on mules by the shortest overland route direct to 

 China, the country in which jadeite is in most request. Another portion of the yield is 

 sent to Mogoung, and from thence in boats to Bhamo, on the Irrawaddy, in consequence of 

 which Bhamo is often incorrectly given as a locality for Burmese jadeite. From Bhamo the 

 mineral is sent down the river to Mandalay, where it is carved in the large lapidary works 

 or only roughly cut and sorted according to quality. What is not used up in Burma is 

 exported through Rangoon by the sea route to China or to Europe. 



The mineral found here is known both to the natives and to the Chinese by the 

 Burmese name " kyauk-tsein." It is white, often with a marbled appearance, and contrasts 

 sharply in the quarry with the dark green or black serpentine, by which it is surrounded. 



