Gem-Quality Spinel from Southern Malawi
At the AGTA show, the author spoke with Brent Smith, owner of Phoenix Gems (Holly, Michigan), who shared a few parcels of rough spinel of different colors recently mined in Malawi. According to Smith, despite identifying spinel occurrences in 2014 (G.W.P. Malunga, An Analysis of Mineral Resources of Malawi, 2014), actual mining operations did not begin until 2024 and are actively producing reasonable quantities, though an exact figure is not yet available. The stones ranged in weight from 4 ct to more than 10 ct.
A few parcels contained pink stones, in a range of tones from light to medium-dark and saturations up to moderately strong (see above, left). The stones were translucent to transparent and relatively clean, containing minimal inclusions and fractures visible with magnification. Smith noted that the pink stones fluoresce a bright red color under UV light.
Another two lots of spinel ranged in hue from bluish gray to grayish blue to violet-blue, with no reported fluorescence under UV light (see above, right). Their tones ranged from medium-light to dark. The gray and blue material observed was highly transparent and lacked eye-visible inclusions. Smith reported that he had encountered some dark purple spinel from Malawi as well.
The spinel exhibited was reportedly mined in Makoko, a village in the southern part of the country. According to Smith, the early findings from this location were small and very poor in quality, until valuable gem-quality crystals were found during recent operations. Based on conversations with some other gem dealers familiar with the area, one of whom lives on site, all agree that no gem-quality spinel has been produced nor is known in the trade from Malawi to date. Phoenix Gems reports to be the only dealer exhibiting this new Malawian material this year.
Malawi is still under development and requires the establishment of ethical practices to allow real beneficiation for the communities. Smith explained that Phoenix Gems cooperates with the Export Development Fund (EDF), a subsidiary of the Reserve Bank of Malawi. These institutions are working with miners and mine owners to establish a safe and official selling channel that guarantees paying local miners a fair market value for the rough. On the international scale, EDF is committed to making the material available and recognized in worldwide marketplaces. The cooperation between local institutions and international dealers to build transparency and value throughout the supply chain is an encouraging sign for a sustainable and fair gem trade for Malawi.
