2009-Jan 15th mining camp to Tanga, Tanzania

Today was our transition day from mining to buying. Some of the crew went back to the pits for one final opportunity in the morning – in hopes of finding another Sapphire. The balance of the team showered, packed and organized their travel items because later today we would make the rough and sometimes uncomfortable drive back to Tanga.

The local mineral show....
At the end of our time at the Umba site, all the locals from the camp and surrounding villages were invited to show up under the main canopy to play show-and-tell. In addition to the miners and their families, the nearby Maasai village came with their finds as well.

In just over two hours we reviewed every stone and parcel. Unfortunately, many of the items were not suitable for faceting.

I was fortunate as one of our local miners took pity on me and performed translation, as I am insufficient in Swahili for this type of fast activity. Well…. fast may be an understatement.

Each one of us would be singled out, and then surrounded by the sellers. At any given time I may have had 15 to 30 locals around me all reaching forward shoving their open hands towards me, each hand containing their offerings. In minutes, and sometimes in seconds, we had to decide if there was any interest on our part.

Once concluded that the offering was something I could use, the bidding began (with everyone in ear-shot listening). Usually it was short-lived, maybe 10 to 15 seconds. There was only a few that walked away hoping to get more than I offered. And then, sometimes they came back.

It is possible, and likely, that man-made or synthetic material may be filtered into the offerings in a scenario such as this. And so the bidding must be adjusted to offset any losses we may incur.

As the session came to a close, we began seeing some of the same pieces again that were offered earlier. Only now, it would be offered by someone other than the owner. I can’t blame them for trying, as we may be the only source of income this week, or month. It was fun, and a challenge, and I would do it again. Though I would say it is not suitable for someone who is uncomfortable in close quarters.

The mineral show came to an end, we all said our good-byes, and then packed into the bus to drive back to Tanga. For the way back, it took us 7 hours, which placed us at the bus station long after it was closed. And so I am still without luggage and learning to get by with much less. Some of the crew stated that it is a good life lesson. Sure.

One of the many bus stops along the way....