A sample of aquamarine found near Ku-me in Mandalay Division.

NEW aquamarine deposits were discovered in Mandalay Division in upper Myanmar last month, a Yangon-based gemmologist and crystal dealer told Myanmar Times last week.

U Kyaw Thu, who went to the area last month to purchase some samples, said the new deposits were found near Gu Mountain, just east of the village of Thapayataung and about 25 kilometres southeast of the town of Ku-me.

The new deposits of the blue and blue-green gemstones were discovered in undisclosed locations by villagers in the area.

The exact site of the mother source is known only to a handful of crystal dealers and villagers, said U Kyaw Thu.

He said the area is currently being surveyed by geological students from Department of Geology at Yangon University.

The department surveyed the region several years ago but found no evidence of gems or crystals at the time, he said.

U Kyaw Thu said the quality of the aquamarines from Ku-me is as good as that from Mogok, the only other area in Myanmar where the gemstones have been found.

“The size is big, they are clean, and the colour is bright,” he said.

Aquamarines from Ku-me will enjoy a prominent place in the crystal market, and the region will soon be well-known to crystal dealers and geology students, U Kyaw Thu said.

Aquamarines are found in Myanmar, Brazil, Siberia and the United States.