The Sapphire Mines At Pailin, Cambodia

A visit to the gem mining district of Pailin...

The Sapphire Mines At Pailin, Cambodia

One rather shocking sight in Pailin is the number of mountains & hills which have been left totally bare, through the logging carried out by the Khmer Rouge. I also noticed a few furniture factories in Pailin making wooden furniture, so the logging continues.

The Sapphire Mines At Pailin, Cambodia

The Samaki Market is the central point of Pailin. Most of the goods available in the market are imported from neighbouring Thailand.

The Sapphire Mines At Pailin, Cambodia

A market trader with her daughter sit outside their stall of imported Thai music. Many people I met could speak Thai as well as their native Khmer.

The Sapphire Mines At Pailin, Cambodia

A row of gem cutters in the Samaki Market. These guys were cutting zircons & garnets. There are also a number of stone dealers in the market with a real mixture of gems, mostly low grade. Some of the stones were obviously imported from Thailand, all being offered as local material. There was also a fair amount of synthetics mixed in some of the parcels.

The Sapphire Mines At Pailin, Cambodia

A gem cutter polishing sapphires. Like most things in Pailin, the machinery used for faceting is imported form neighboring Thailand. The quality of the cutting varied from not bad to others that looked as though they had been cut with an axe!

The Sapphire Mines At Pailin, Cambodia

Outside the Samaki Market where most of the activity seems to take place. About half the roads in the city centre are surfaced, the rest is dusty dirt road.

The Sapphire Mines At Pailin, Cambodia

The Pailin Good Samaritan's Gem Cutting Training School. I had to take this picture just for the name!

The Sapphire Mines At Pailin, Cambodia

The sign outside the Pailin Police Station asking people to hand in their weapons. Cambodia is saturated with weapons of all kinds including land mines which still and maim and kill today. It is sad but not unusual to see people with legs missing getting around on crutches.

The Sapphire Mines At Pailin, Cambodia

The road up to Wat Phnom Yat & the entrance to Wat Kong Kang on the right. On the outer walls of Wat Kong Kang are decorated with carvings copied from Angkor Wat, which includes 'Apsaras' and 'The Churning of The Sea of Milk'.

The Sapphire Mines At Pailin, Cambodia

On the climb up to Wat Phnom Yat I cam across these two guys who were scouring the ground looking for sapphires. They told me they have found stones there in the past especially after heavy rainfall, when they are joined by sometimes hundreds of other people.

The Sapphire Mines At Pailin, Cambodia

Local man chopping wood.

The Sapphire Mines At Pailin, Cambodia

A family living on Phnom Yat, next to the temple.

The Sapphire Mines At Pailin, Cambodia

The newly renovated Wat Phnom Yat, which overlooks Pailin city & valley. The location on the top of Phnom Yat (Phnom = mountain) meant the temple took a real bashing during the war years. The bullet holes have now been filled and painted over in bright colours & shell casings are used as incense holders.

The Sapphire Mines At Pailin, Cambodia

This somewhat bizarre scene at Wat Phnom Yat is supposed to represent Hell. There are images of people being tortured in very barbaric ways. You can find similar scenes of torture painted at Tuol Sleng in Phnom Penh, the notorious interrogation centre used by the Khmer Rouge in the 70's.

The Sapphire Mines At Pailin, Cambodia

These statues represent the Buddhist legend of Chu Chok Gun Ha Chali.

The Sapphire Mines At Pailin, Cambodia

When the women of Cambodia are widowed, they traditionally become nuns and take care of the temples.

The Sapphire Mines At Pailin, Cambodia

The Chedi at Wat Phnom Yat, which overlooks Pailin in a westerly direction.

The Sapphire Mines At Pailin, Cambodia

The view south-west over the Pailin valley. The sapphire deposits are spread out across the valley floor.

The Sapphire Mines At Pailin, Cambodia

The view north over the Pailin valley

The Sapphire Mines At Pailin, Cambodia

The view west looking over Pailin City.

The Sapphire Mines At Pailin, Cambodia

Open cast mining. The truck loads of gem bearing soil are taken away to jigs to be washed and the sapphires extracted.

The Sapphire Mines At Pailin, Cambodia

A jig used to wash the gem bearing soil. Note the flags and spirit table, all there to bring good fortune to the miners.

The Sapphire Mines At Pailin, Cambodia

Miners showing me their parcels of rough sapphires. These particular people were showing me smaller sizes but the stones had excellent blue colour.

The Sapphire Mines At Pailin, Cambodia

Local Children.

The Sapphire Mines At Pailin, Cambodia

This mining operation is to the west of Pailin. There were quite a few people working on this mine. The miners here showed me small parcels of rubies.

The Sapphire Mines At Pailin, Cambodia

A jig used to wash the gravel.

The Sapphire Mines At Pailin, Cambodia

The gems are picked out of the gravel by hand.

The Sapphire Mines At Pailin, Cambodia

Gem miners breaking for lunch.

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