Ilakaka

Before 1998 Ilakaka was an isolated village community on the path leading to Tulear in the South-West of Madagascar. That soon changed with the discovery of the first Sapphire, after which the area was swamped with a tide of thousands of Madagascan miners in search of their own ‘El Dorado’.

numbers of dealers from Sri Lanka, Thailand and Africa, purchasing gems from the hand-miners and exporting them back to their homeland.

It soon became apparent that the area was rich in huge quantities of medium to very fine quality Blue, pink, Blue-violet, violet, purple, orange and yellow Sapphire. In fact, Madagascar is home to the largest Sapphire belt in the world. In Anivorano, located at the northern extremity of the island, a big discovery of Blue Sapphire revealed Sri Lankan quality material, which it still produces today.

At first the majority of the Sapphires was found within 50 meters of ground level, and no sophisticated machinery was needed. However, after the initial surface deposits were depleted the quantity of Sapphire decreased. In 2003, Sapphire production at Ilakaka and Sakara was only 60% of the levels reached in 2002. Madagascar is now developing high-tech mining to develop its rich resources, and with the introduction of mechanized mining equipment Madagascar is shaping up to be the world’s major source of Blue Sapphire this century.

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