MANO RIVER ALLUVIAL SAPPHIRES

Countries south of the Sahara desert, most notably Sierra Leone and Guinea, have recently begun to exploit their corundum deposits. The Mano River forms part of the boundary between these countries, and artisanal diamond miners pitched these meddlesome overburden rocks aside while focusing only on the alluvial diamonds below. However, these often very attrctive lilac colord stones are beginning to find a market,: a few with collectors but more as cabochon rough.

The specimens often show a lot of water wear, and lode sources (not yet found) are considered to be about 100 kilometers upstream.

SIERRA LEONE, KONO (SEDAFU)

On the left is a strange and unique "black ruby" corundum river cobble found near Kono (Sedafu), Sierra Leone. Blue and white corundums, some weighing several pounds, as well as particolored ones, are occasionally found in the same general area (right).