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Highlights • Gemstones and (re)production of the tainted image of post-conflict locations. • Gemstone origin as a major value determinant. • Swat emerald and post-conflict development opportunities and place promotion. • Preventing future conflicts in Swat through fostering economic resilience. Abstract This paper critically examines the social dynamics of emerald mining in the Swat Valley and its impact on the broader gemstone processing sector in Pakistan. In particular, it pays attention to problematizing the existing structure of artisanal, small-scale emerald mining, and its fragmented supply chain that grapples with a branding stigma of gem origin. It also considers an export-led beneficiation industry within Swat to generate sustainable livelihoods and help prevent future conflicts through fostering economic resilience. The paper emerges with inferences that while the literature on colored gemstones is increasingly critical of fragmented supply chains, it should also consider the role that gemstones can play, as a constitutive and representational force, toward (re)production and (re)engineering of the "tainted" image of post-conflict locations. This is particularly the case because gemstone origin is a major factor in value determination. Areas of conflict that have previously caused negative branding of gemstones can later be transformed into post-conflict development opportunities and lead to positive branding. Approaches for pursuing such a strategy are explored in the context of Pakistan's emerald industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ethnically diverse high-altitude region of Gilgit-Baltistan, with its complex political history, remains relatively free from the controlling gaze of the central state apparatus of Pakistan. In these extraordinary terrain, where local communities rule the region as the “State by proxy”, informal gemstone mining provides an important supplement to livelihoods. This paper shows that gemstone mining in Gilgit-Baltistan is characterised by customary rules and regulations that are based on collective responsibility, and members follow customary authorities because they are not external to the community. It argues that the very idea of centralised “governance” of mineral resources, used widely in contexts of resource extraction as the panacea, needs to be reconsidered when dealing with the particularities of the context. It draws on the concept of ungovernability to underline the fact that sometimes it may simply be impossible to administer informal mining in the conventional sense of the term. It suggests in conclusion that informal mining, which has a long history in Pakistan and has played an increasing role as a source of rural employment and revenue, needs to be accommodated within the legal framework of mining. More importantly, to govern informal mining of gemstones, the first task would be to consider how things are currently done, understanding and respecting customary laws, and build upon them to incorporate their elements into systems that acknowledge community rights and a more equitable sharing of benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Green diopside is currently popular in the jewelry market due to its attractive color and excellent transparency. Gem-quality diopsides are mainly sourced from Pakistan, Italy, Russia, and other places. The color, geographic origin, and formation mechanism are the main factors affecting the value of gemstones, which can be determined by examining their gemology and composition characteristics. This study systematically characterizes the standard gemology of green diopsides from Pakistan and Russia and compares them with the blue diopsides produced within the skarn process and the diopsides from the nearby region in Russia from previous studies by gemological microscopy, spectral testing (infrared, Raman and ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy), and chemical analyses (electron probe and laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry). The results show that the spectral characteristics and phase composition of the green diopside samples from Pakistan and Russia have excellent uniformity and similarity. The high Cr, Fe, V, and Ni contents are the reasons why they appear as green. Meanwhile, the elemental characteristics of the diopside are effective tools for distinguishing different origins of different diopsides. The Russian green diopsides have higher contents of Sr, Sc, Zr, and rare earth elements (REE), indicating that they are related to alkaline ultrabasic rocks, and the source of the diopside sample from Pakistan is metamorphic rock. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Shigar valley of northern Pakistan is a well‐known region for holding a variety of gemstones. As the gemstone‐bearing rock, post‐collisional leucogranites, and pegmatites in Shigar valley have been sporadically researched but the detailed and updated timing record along with the source rocks were not adequate. Here, we present comprehensive U(‐Th)Pb ages, mineral, and whole‐rock isotopic analyses to investigate the petrogenetic evolution of these granitoids. The zircon, xenotime, and monazite U(‐Th)–Pb ages show crystallization of leucogranites that spanned as recent as ~7–3 Ma. The REEs with nearly smooth patterns and distinct negative Eu anomalies in all the leucogranites and pegmatites with contrasting negative Eu anomalies illustrate significantly plagioclase fractionation. These leucogranites and pegmatites have high SiO2 content showing peraluminous geochemistry. Zircon Hf isotopic composition of leucogranites, pegmatites and gneisses have εHf(t) values of −28.4 to +7.4, −24.0 to −16.5, and −13.2 to +1.8, respectively, which shows crustal origin along with the probable contamination from Kohistan‐Ladakh Arc at depths. Furthermore, monazite Nd isotopic composition of leucogranites, pegmatites, and gneisses have εNd(t) values of −22.9 to −9.5, −25.1 to −22.8, and −26.3 to −24.8, which seems purely from crustal source. The whole‐rock Sr‐Nd‐Hf isotopic composition shows that leucogranites and gneisses have 87Sr/86Sr(i) values of 0.71603 to 0.92518, εNd(t) values of −22.2 to −2.7, and εHf(t) values of −44.1 to −0.2, respectively, that also confines it to the metapelitic origin. Our results overall reveal that the leucogranites are produced mainly by the partial melting of Dassu felsic gneiss from the Karakoram Metamorphic Complex, showing signatures of the upper crustal rocks of the subducting Indian Plate and hybridized juvenile Asian crust. The input of heat for partial melting is likely to be derived either from the lithospheric mantle which followed the slab break‐off or from shear heating along Main Karakoram Thrust. Furthermore, a leucogranite sample yielded a zircon U–Pb age of 84.9 Ma, and monazite U(‐Th)–Pb age of 10.8 Ma. The in‐situ zircon Hf and monazite Nd isotopes yielded εHf(t) values of +3.6 to +10.7, and εNd(t) values of +1.0 to +2.4, whereas the whole‐rock 87Sr/86Sr(i) value is 0.70522, εNd(t) is +1.1, and εHf(t) is +4.8, respectively, which confirms it to be sourced from the nearby Kohistan‐Ladakh Arc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction of modern technologies and methods and quality analysis for the gemstone industry are the main strategic initiatives of the Small and Medium Development Authority (SMEDA) of Pakistan. In this regard, four natural gemstones Quartz, Pyrope-Almandine Garnet, Black tourmaline, and Amethyst brought from Hunza valley Pakistan were analyzed by state-of-the-art spectroscopic techniques including EDX, UV-VIS, and FTIR spectroscopy. EDX revealed the traces of Fe, Mg, and Ca in Pyrope-Almandine garnet, Mg and Fe in Black tourmaline, Au and Ca in Amethyst. UV-VIS data revealed the values of Urbach energies 520, 210, 460, and 430 meV, and the values of direct bandgap energies 5.14, 6.12, 5.54, 5.74 eV, respectively. The higher structural disorder due to the presence of Fe and other impurities in stones except Quartz was attributed to the higher values of Urbach energies and decrease in band gaps: FTIR data Fe-O and Si-O stretching vibration in Pyrope-Almandine garnet, Si-O bending vibrations and O-H stretching vibration in Quartz, Si-O-Si bending and stretching vibrations and C=O stretching vibrations in Black tourmaline, Ca-O stretching vibrations and Si-OH weak-vibrations in Amethyst. Photoluminescence results also showed useful information in investigating the properties of gemstones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]