Sapphires from the Andranondambo mine in SE Madagascar

On the way to sapphire mines of Andranondambo

Malagasy's (Madagascar) highly variegated topography of her fascinating landscapes let us surmise that highly active tectonic powers affected her geology, which therefore is very complex.

This conjecture has been confirmed by the actual results of modern geological research and the unexpected wealth of gemstones which have been found within the last hundred years.

Map of Malagasy with important gem deposits

Indeed, Malagasy nowadays boasts to be an important producer of various gemstones as she excels in an abundance of gemstones and even rare gems. The occurrences are undoubtedly compatible with Sri Lanka. Beryls of various colours (aquamarine, emerald, heliodor, morganite), corundums (ruby, sapphire), feldspars (amazonite, orthoclase and labradorite), garnets (almandine, rhodolite and spessartite), kunzite, quartz (phanero- and cryptocrystalline), tourmalines (e.g. liddicoatite), but also a large variety of rare gems such as cyanite, danburite, epidote, hambergite, kornerupine, and sphene are being excavated.