Explore / Africa / More of Africa
East Africa & Indian Ocean, Ihorombe
Ilakaka
Sapphire boomtown on the RN7
Gem locality Documented siteGray area
What you could find
Reported finds from this ground.
Crystals and mineralsAlso reported: pink and blue sapphire rough at dealer tables (buy small, expect fakes), eyes-only: hand-dug shaft fields, gravel washing in the river.
Photos via Wikimedia Commons: Stephanie Clifford from Arlington, VA, USA (CC BY 2.0).
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Why this spot
Rockhounding locality: one of Earth's largest alluvial sapphire deposits, found 1998; a village of 40 people became a Wild West town of tens of thousands, and Madagascar became the world's top sapphire exporter
Wikipedia and MadaCamp document the 1998 discovery, boom population and dealer economy; guided pit visits are a normal stop on RN7 itineraries though conditions change fast
Before you go
Hazards noted for this site.
unshored pit collapses kill miners regularly
do not flash cashAvoid after dark, glass fakes and heat-treated stones are common
Keep exploring nearby
More spots in this area.