Nathan D. Renfro

Big Sky Country Sapphire: Visiting Montana's Alluvial Deposits

S has been mined in the western U.S. state of Montana for more than a century and a half. Historically, gem-quality sapphires have been mined commercially in four main areas in southwestern Montana, shown in figure 1: the upper Missouri River gravel bars (1865), Dry Cottonwood Creek (1889), Rock Creek (1892), and Yogo Gulch (1895). Today, the first two areas remain quite active, while operations in Yogo Gulch and Dry Cottonwood Creek have been suspended for many years. To better understand the characteristics of Montana sapphire and record current mining and commercial activities, GIA sent a team to visit the placer deposits at the upper Missouri River and Rock Creek areas in August 2015. Since the latter half of the 19th century, Montana’s history has been intertwined with gold, silver, and copper mining. Corundum was discovered during the course of gold mining activities in southwestern Montana. Before the 1940s, the state’s alluvial sapphire deposits were exploited mainly to supply the watch industry, but production fell dramatically with the use of synthetic sapphire in watch bearings (Emmett and Douthit, 1993). Among Montana’s secondary deposits, Rock Creek (figure 2) is the only area mined specifically for sapphire from its discovery in 1892 until World War II (Clabaugh, 1952). While Yogo Gulch is a primary deposit, the placer deposits at Rock Creek, Dry Cottonwood Creek, and the upper Missouri River near Helena have been a matter of speculation among researchers trying to work out the origin of these sapphire crystals. Research indicates that they were carried to the surface by volcanic activity, but their ultimate origin is still an open question, even after about 125 years of searching (e.g., Pratt, 1906; Clabaugh, 1952; Garland, 2002; Berg and Dahy, 2002; Berg, 2014; Zwaan et al., 2015). Due to the lack of significant sapphire-bearing host rock outcrops in these areas, the search and discussion continue. The glamour of the sapphires, the mysteries of their origin, the area’s mining history, and the natural beauty of Big Sky country are an intriguing combination (figure 3).

Inclusions in Natural, Synthetic, and Treated Emerald

Figure 1. This emerald contains a brown crystal of the rare mineral parisite. There is also an oil-filled cavity showing a blue and orange flash effect, along with two large trapped gas bubbles. This inclusion suite verifies the natural origin of this emerald; it also confirms that the stone, which shows signs of clarity enhancement, is from Colombia. Photomicrograph by John I. Koivula; field of view 3 mm.

Inclusions in Natural, Synthetic, and Treated Sapphire

Figure 1. Sapphires from a variety of sources. Faceted stones (left to right): 6.36 ct pink/orange (padparadscha), 1.63 ct pink, 4.76 ct violet, 5.43 ct violet purple, 3.03 ct blue, 2.12 ct blue, 8.06 ct yellow, 3.46 ct yellow, 2.00 ct orange, and 1.01 ct deep orange. Crystals (left to right): 9.88 ct pink, 17.80 ct violet, 30.07 ct purple, 42.13 ct blue, 10.84 ct yellow, and 5.86 ct yellow-orange. From the GIA Eduard J. Gübelin Collection and Bill Larson, Pala International. Photo by Robert Weldon/GIA.

Reversible Color Modification of Blue Zircon By Long-Wave Ultraviolet Radiation

Exposing blue zircon to long-wave ultraviolet (LWUV) radiation introduces a brown coloration, resulting in a somewhat unattractive, much less valuable gemstone. Common sources of accidental long-wave radiation that can affect mounted faceted blue zircons are tanning beds and UV lights used to apply acrylic fingernails. To determine if the LWUV-induced brown color in zircon is completely and easily reversible, quantitative UV-visible spectroscopy was used to measure the difference in absorption before and after LWUV exposure. This study explored the nature of the UV-induced color-causing defect to establish whether subsequent exposure to visible light would completely restore the blue color. Spectroscopic examination showed that blue color in zircon is due to a broad absorption band in the ordinary ray, starting at 500 nm and centered at approximately 650 nm. LWUV exposure induced absorption features, including a broad band centered at 485 nm that was responsible for the brown color.