TUESDAY 1ST FEBRUARY 2011

SEAN NEWS

GEMSTONES COME TO IST

BY SEAN KEARNEY

DID you know that there are over 67 different colors
in a sapphire , and it is one of the worlds hardest gems?
Well that is what Ryan Scholtz talked about to the fourth
grade students at IST when he visited on the 20th of
January! He also talked about other information so that
the fourth graders could understand more about
gemstones.
Gems can be made into all shapes and sizes! Ryan told
us that they put rough gemstones into a polisher that
make them all shiny and smooth. Ryan also told us that
there are many places where gemstones can be found in
Tanzania. Tanzanite is only found near MT.Kilimanjaro,
but miners have just found 2 more pieces of
When Ryan came he talked about the issues related to
mining, for example he said, “There is more Tanzanite
sold in Kenya than in Tanzania because it is being
smuggled in!” Mining effects the land as well because
houses have to be taken down for them to mine
underneath. Mining can be very dangerous and many lives
are risked every day. You can only mine if you are given
permission from the government. Villagers might be
affected by mining because miners might get permission
to mine underneath the village from the government. So
the villagers will have no home. It can effect jewelry shops
because they will get more gems and get more
money.
Ryan brought with him some Tanzanite that
he had collected over the years. He brought a
machine too that tells you what is in a
gemstone when you hold it up to the machine!
He also brought a parcel that had lot’s of rocks
in it but they weren't a normal rock, they had
copper in them!

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