Introduction to Kenyan gems and gemstone mining in Kenya:
(Page updated on March 25, 2008)

Gemstone mining in East Africa does not have the long history like gemstones mining in Central Asia (Afghanistan), South East Asia (Burma) and South Asia (Sri Lanka) but during the last few decades countries located on the East African Mozambique Belt like Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique and Madagascar have become important gemstone producers.

As I'm not myself a geologist, I will use the words of Dr Cedric Simonet, a French geologist who studied and worked for several years in Kenya as manager of the Rockland Ruby mine in Tsavo ( also known as the John Saul Mine) from his “Presentation of the Kenyan gemstone deposits in his “General setting of coloured gemstone deposits in the Mozambique Belt of Kenya. Preliminary consideration”:

“Gemstone deposits in Kenya occurs in different geological settings. However, although some gemstone deposits are associated with Tertiary volcanic rocks such as the Turkana sapphire deposit, most of them are located within the Pan African Mozambique Orogenic Belt.
Gemstone deposits in the Mozambique belt are highly variegated , and can be classified into four categories:
1) Magmatic deposits include apatite, feldspar, tourmaline and/or beryl bearing pegmatites, and sapphire bearing monzonitic pegmatoids.
2) Metamorphic deposits are the result of isochemical or sub-isochemical metamorphism, they include a wide range of deposits of gemstones such as kornerupine, moonstone, tourmaline, garnet, ruby and sapphire.
Metasomatic deposits are very common in the Mozambique Belt and usually produce gemstones of high quality. They are the result of interactions between various lithologies and fluids under metamorphic conditions.
3) Metasomatic deposits include some tourmaline ruby and sapphire deposits as well as most iolite and rhodolite deposits.
4) Last, hydrothermal deposits include tanzanite and amethyst deposits.”

An elephant encounter in Tsavo, July 2005
Photo V. Pardieu,

In 1973, American geologist John Saul discovered rubies in the south of Tsavo, at a location which will become famous as the “John Saul mine”. Soon after, a second deposit was discovered nearby by Tim Miller at “Penny Lane"..

"John Saul mine" ruby crystals, cabochons and small faceted gems of about 1 carat each.
Stones courtesy Rockland Kenya Ltd, Photo: V. Pardieu, Oct. 2007

In 1974, Henry Blatt, president of Tiffany and Co introduced the new vanadian grossular garnet discovered first in Komolo area of Tanzania in 1968 and in Taita hills near Tsavo in Kenya in 1970 (Bridges) as “Tsavorite”, this name was rapidly accepted by the North American gem trade but in Europe some prominent gemologists preferred to name it “Tsavolite”:

Rough and cut Tsavorite (Tsavolite) from Tsavo Kasigau area, including a 7 carat faceted gem..
Stones courtesy Tsavolite Mining Ltd. Photo: V. Pardieu, Oct 2007

At the time of our two visits in 2005 and 2007, ruby and Tsavorite (Tsavolite) were the most important type of gemstones mined in Kenya:

Ruby main mining area in Kenya was still in 2005 and 2007 the Tsavo area, nevertheles rubies and sapphires have also been found in other parts of Kenya but mining in these new occurences was not very active at the time of our visits (See our “ Kenya map” and Simonet “General setting of coloured gemstone deposits in the Mozambique Belt of Kenya. Preliminary consideration”, page 3). We visited nevertheless the promising Baringo-Bogoria ruby mining area discovered in 2001 and the Simba area discovered in 2005, two interesting magmatic type deposits.

Tsavorite is mainly mined in a large area from the south of Tsavo to the Tanzanian border. Voi, a small city located on the road linking Mombassa to Nairobi, is the local tsavorite trading center. It was told us to have been built with “Tsavorite money”.

During our first visit in July 2005, my focus was on ruby but my assistant Jean Baptiste Senoble interest about green gems like emeralds falled in love with Tsavorite (Tsavolite). A passion that turned to be contagious when I found myself "surrounded" by Tsavorite enthusiasts like gem dealer Kennedy Khamwathi and Tsavorite miner and earliest fan: Scottish geologist Campbell Bridges. We added then to our visit program several Tsavorite (Tsavolite) mines, an easy event as they were also located near the ruby mines in the Tsavo area of south east Kenya. I experienced then a fascinating green fever which, I've to admit still affect me....

Jean Baptiste Senoble at the Aqua mine (Tsavo) trying to convert me to Tsavorite...
Stones courtesy Aqua Mining Ltd. Photo: V. Pardieu, Jul. 2005

Kenya was the fourth country in the 2005 gemological exploration program I had with Jean baptiste Senoble, a young French gemologist recently graduated from AIGS in Bangkok, Thailand. It was for Jean Baptiste and myself our very first trip to Africa. We were very curious and impatient to travel in this new continent and discover Kenya ! In order to help us to prepare this expedition I asked the support from ICA Vice President Jean Claude Michelou and ICA Ambassador to Kenya Suzie Kennedy.

Suzie and Kennedy Khamwathi helped us like rarely we were helped in a gemological expedition: They contacted Kenyan miners to help us to organize our visits. More, Kennedy Khamwathi decided to come with us as he wanted also to visit with us all these mines and miners. The visit was limited to the Tsavo and the Baringo areas for time and security reasons.

The main concern of most Kenyan miners we met during our 2005 expedition was that they were needing more exposure and more promotion about their stones. Many small operations lacking machinery were searching for partners willing to invest and work with them. In May 2005 an ICA group visited Kenya after the Dubai 2007 ICA Congress and I was told during my second visit in Oct 2007 that things were positive. I hope that these pages about Kenya and its gemstone mines will help people interested in gemology and East Africa to discover and understand the Kenya gemstone wealth and potential. If after your visit to these pages you are interested to contact kenyan miners, I advise to contact the ICA and its ambassador to Kenya: Suzie Kennedy...

I invite you to consult our 2005 Kenya expedition report and to visit the following photo reports of the Kenyan gemstone mines we visited during our 2005 and 2007 gemological expeditions in Kenya:

On the way to Tsavo, Michael Rogers and the author with travel addicted gemologist's best friend:
"Ruby and sapphire" by Richard W. Hughes.
Photo: Guillaume Soubiraa, Oct 2007

Nairobi: meeting ICA Ambassador Suzie Kennedy. (Soon)
On the way to Tsavo. (Soon)
Visit to Equador and Hard Rock ruby mines. (Soon)
Visit to Aqua ruby and tsavorite mine. (Soon)
Visit to Rockland and Megalith ruby mines. (Soon)
Visit to Kuranze area's Bocrest and Tsavolite mines. (Soon)
Visit to Kuranze area's Mberili and Nadan mines. (Soon)
Visit to Taita Hills's Baraka, Bridges and Davis mines. (Soon)
Studying the new rubies from Baringo area at Corby mine. (Soon)

ICA ambassador to Kenya Suzie Kennedy presenting rubies from Baringo
Stones courtesy Corby Ltd. Photo: V. Pardieu, Jul. 2005

>I would like now to take the time to thanks all the Kenyan miners and dealers who welcomed us during these two gemological expeditions to Kenya in 2005 and 2007. I would like also to thanks particularly: the Kenyan Commissioner of Mines and Geology Mr. L.K.Biwot, ICA embassador to Kenya Suzie Kennedy and her husband Kennedy Khamwathi, my travel assistants Jean Baptiste Senoble (2005), Guillaume Soubiraa, Michael Rogers and Philippe Brunot (2007), the ICA (International Colored stones Association), the AIGS Gemological Laboratory, Bangkok, Thailand and the Gubelin Gem Laboratory, Lucerne, Switzerland where I'm currently an employee for all the support they provided for these two expeditions.