TANZANIA AND KENYA TRIP REPORT
January 2011
By Steve Wallner
I have always been fascinated by Africa. Until recently my only knowledge of Africa came from books, National Geographic magazines, and of course the movies. Imagine my delight when I was offered a chance to visit Africa AND go there to look at rocks. This was the perfect scenario for me.
After what seemed like an endless amount of planning, visa applications, shots, flight scheduling etc, the time had come. A mere 20 hours of flight I was finally in Africa! I am pleased to report that all of my expectations of Africa were exceeded on this trip.
The group that I traveled with was composed of 3 gem cutters and three jewelers. Roger Dery was the person who handled the planning of the trip and put together a wonderful itinerary. One joke on the trip was that the itinerary was never too permanent, but all of the changes seemed to just bring us to a better adventure.
Here is a picture of the gang traveling along one of the very bumpy roads that we traveled. From left to right (Steve Wallner, Frank Yanke, Peter Torraca, Roger Dery, Kim Yanke, T Lee).
TRIP SUMMARY
We had about 10 days on the ground in Tanzania and Kenya. We started out in Arusha and spent the first day buying rough. From Arusha we traveled east to the port city of Tanga in the hopes of visiting a zircon mine site. From Tanga we traveled north to Kenya and stayed in the port city of Mombassa. From Mombassa we headed west to Voi where we spent a few days buying rough and visiting mine sites. After Voi we traveled back to Arusha, but only after a wonderful night in Moshi at the foot of Kilamanjaro. After a couple more days in Arusha, Roger and Peter went home while the rest of us spent a couple of nights in Tangire game reserve admiring the beauty of Africa and its many animals. It was quite the whirlwind tour of east Africa. This was too short to see everything, but a great chance to get a taste of east Africa.
BUYING ROUGH IN ARUSHA
Arusha is a great location for people who like gemstones. It is centrally located to many of the gem producing areas in east Africa. For this reason much of the gemstone production shows up in Arusha.
On the first day we saw a wide variety of gem rough including spinel, tourmaline, various varieties of garnet, zircon, and this particularly nice parcel of chrome tourmaline. Not all of the pieces in this parcel tested as chrome tourmaline (using a Chelsea filter), but there were some wonderful pieces all the same.
There were a few occasions where a parcel did not contain all of the same material so it was important to make sure that the identity of the rough was certain. This also afforded us some nice surprises as well. Much of this rough may have been sorted at the mine and so the possibility of something that looked similar sneaking in exists.
VISIT TO THE KENYA COLOR CHANGE MINE
One of the highlights of the trip was the visit to the mine site in Kenya where color change garnets are found. This area has produced some of the very interesting blue to red color change garnets in the last year or so, and everyone was excited to see the area.
We got a tour of the mine site and purchased some rough directly from the miners. The mine site is not what people typically picture when they think of a mining operation. At this location the miners dig holes approximately 8 feet deep until they reach a layer of gravel. This gravel is the remnants of an ancient riverbed and is where the gemstones are found. Needless to say this is hard work in tough conditions. My appreciation for the rarity of fine gemstones was reinforced seeing how much earth is moved to generate a small amount of rough.
Purchasing rough at the mine site has its own set of challenges. It is tricky to evaluate the color of rough in the bright sun and quite frankly it is easy to get caught up in the moment and make impulse purchases. It is certainly easier to evaluate rough in an indoor setting sitting in a chair working on a table. After some negotiations with the miners we bought a few nice pieces of garnet rough.
PURCHASING ROUGH IN VOI
Besides working with gem brokers directly, we also purchased rough from a variety of folks who visited the broker’s office during our stay. You never knew what would come into the office next. It was exciting to see when someone would come in with a parcel wrapped in a plastic bag or just a few stones wrapped in a paper towel.
Price negotiations might be in the local currency or in American dollars. Most of the bids were a result of “working the numbers” on a calculator and displaying the result to the other person. Thankfully numbers are the same in English and Swahili.
This is an example of a parcel of Rhodolite garnet that was brought in to the broker’s office. Notice the nice color of these garnets. No problems with the white paper test here!
ROUGH PRICING
One thing that struck me as odd was how each different person priced their rough. Some prices were extremely high … higher than one would see in Tucson or other places. In some cases the high price was a starting point for negotiations. In other cases it was a firm price because the belief was that another buyer would pay it. Tsavorite garnet for example was very expensive in Voi which is ironic because it is mined locally. The price was so high that I do not believe anyone bought any Tsavorite rough.
MY FAVORITE THINGS
One of the great things to me about the trip was seeing rough that you just do not see anywhere else. Here is a picture of a monster piece of Tanzanite rough. This piece was not completely clean, but there is a really nice gemstone in there! Unfortunately Tanzania does not allow rough of this size to be exported any longer. The good news is that local cutters can benefit from this natural resource.
We also saw some really nice fanta orange spessartite garnet. The pieces were not huge, but they were very clean for this type of material. I did buy some of this rough and can’t wait to cut it. Just look at the color of that rough!
This report is too brief to describe how much I enjoyed the trip to Africa, but it does provide an idea of what sort of gem experiences you can see in Africa. Although a primary reason for this trip was to purchase rough it was also about enjoying the beautiful landscapes, animals, and the local people. The other part of this trip that I will always remember is spending the time with old friends and some people who became new friends.
My childhood fascination with Africa was finally fulfilled. My only advice to others would be if you have a similar dream to give it a try … it is much better than you imagine.
Steve Wallner
Additional Links
Peter Torraca Exceptional Gemcuting
Roger Dery of Spectral Gems, Inc.
Here is a picture of the gang traveling along one of the very bumpy roads that we traveled. From left to right (Steve Wallner, Frank Yanke, Peter Torraca, Roger Dery, Kim Yanke, T Lee).
TRIP SUMMARY
BUYING ROUGH IN ARUSHA
VISIT TO THE KENYA COLOR CHANGE MINE
PURCHASING ROUGH IN VOI
This is an example of a parcel of Rhodolite garnet that was brought in to the broker’s office. Notice the nice color of these garnets. No problems with the white paper test here!
ROUGH PRICING
MY FAVORITE THINGS
We also saw some really nice fanta orange spessartite garnet. The pieces were not huge, but they were very clean for this type of material. I did buy some of this rough and can’t wait to cut it. Just look at the color of that rough!
Peter Torraca Exceptional Gemcuting
Roger Dery of Spectral Gems, Inc.
