Rubies and sapphires from snezhnoe, Tajikistan

Discovered during the late 1970s, the Snezhnoe ruby and sapphire deposit in Tajikistan was active until the collapse of the former Soviet Union in the early 1990s and the outbreak of regional conflicts. This marble-hosted occurrence has seen renewed interest, as it is a large and potentially productive deposit that has not been sufficiently studied. Testing of samples identified solid inclusions of margarite enriched with Na and Li (calcic ephesite or soda margarite). These are believed to be previously unreported for gem corundum. Allanite, muscovite, and fuchsite (chromium-bearing muscovite) were identified for the first time in ruby and sapphire from Snezhnoe. These and other inclusions such as zircon, rutile, Kfeldspar, and Ca-Na-plagioclase could serve to distinguish them from stones mined elsewhere. Concentrations of trace elements were typical for ruby and sapphire of the same formation type. The highest Cr concentrations were observed within the bright red marble-hosted rubies, and these values were very similar to those of the famous Burmese rubies from Mogok.