Rubies, the buried and untapped treasures of Pakistani Kashmir
Lack of investment in infrastructure, techniques, and regulations stymies development of the gem industry
Mon, Oct 16, 2017 - 5:50 AM
Above: An employee of Azad Kashmir Mineral and Industrial Development Corporation showing a ruby gemstone in Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistan- administered Kashmir.
PHOTO: AFP
Above: Pakistani labourers washing pieces of rocks outside a mine at a mountain to find gemstones in the Kashmiri town of Chitta Katha.
PHOTO: AFP
Chitta Katha, Pakistan
THE people of Pakistani Kashmir are sitting on a treasure chest: Millions of rubies, estimated to be worth up to half a billion dollars, are lying beneath them.
But archaic tools and a lack of investment in infrastructure and techniques are hampering efforts...
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