The People's Republic of China produces many gemstones including Diamonds, yet it is for Jade that it is traditionally known. Pearls also figure in Chinese precious production. Wholesale labrorite Jewellery

China is the most populous country in the world. It is bordered by some independent Republics of the former U.S.S.R., Afghanistan, Mongolia, North Korea, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Bhutan, Laos, Vietnam and the China Sea. The mainland has an area of 9,597,000 sq. kms. populated by more than 1088 million people. Chinese or Han is the majority language while Putougha is being promoted officially. Yuan is the unit of currency.

Gems Galore: Although China is traditionally called the Jade Land, its mineral wealth includes a wide range of gemstones and pearls. In recent years, there have been new finds of diamonds, ruby, sapphire, amethyst, rose quartz, jade, garnet, agate and cornelian. Of the diamonds found in China about 20 per cent are of gem quality.

Diamond Development: Planned expansions from known kimberlite deposits will add perhaps 150,000-500,000 carats per year to the current production of nearly 2,00,000 carats. China has three large craters (Tarim, Sino-Korean and Yangtze) that are known to contain both diamondiferrous Kimberlite and alluvial diamonds.
China has been building up the diamond industry with foreign collaboration. Starting with its capital - Beijing, China is trying to develop the diamond industry at many points and also to undertake the manufacture of diamond jewellery. Some Indian diamantaires have also set up modern diamond processing gem and jewellery manufacturing factories there. Similarly Israelis too have set up manufacturing units in China.
Today China's major diamond producing mine is the Wafangdian kimberlite mine in southern Liaoning province, but production also comes from the Shengli kimberlite in Shandong and alluvial deposits in Hennan and Shandong. "

701 Changma Mine: According to an independent technical report from Canada on the 701 Changma Mine, located in Mengyin County in the Shandong Province of Northeastern China, diamond resources of 1,489,727 carats up to a depth of 40 metres, and inferred resources of 966,033 carats at depths between 40 metres and 340 metres have been found.
A total of 64, 184 carats of diamonds were recovered from this mine, historically China's largest diamond producer, between July 1, 2002 and June 30, 2003, at a grade of 1.12 carat per ton. Despite the primary purpose of the operation being to produce diamonds for industrial uses, many large gem quality stones have been produced, the largest of which weighed 119 carats.

Mining on the property, which covers 8.2 hectares, commenced in 1970, and continuous production from 1970 to June this year, mainly from open pit mining, has produced a total of 1.57 million carats.
Pan Asia Mining Corporation, part of the joint venture that has the exclusive right to mine and explore for diamonds at the 701 Changma diamond deposit which consists of a big pipe, a small pipe and a dyke, has hired a Chinese company to handle security and is currently reviewing proposals for a Dense Media separation plant and X-ray sorting house facility.
In addition to the 701 project, Pan Asia is evaluating the 702 Xiyu project and the 703 Linyi diamond project, all located in the Shandong Province.

Diamond Sector Thriving : China's full-fledged Diamond Exchange has been established at Shanghai.
The 31 st World Diamond Congress at New York in mid-October, 2004 is scheduled to enroll the Shanghai Exchange as its full fledged member. More and more diamond manufacturing plants have been set up in China, turning the country into one ofthe world's major producers of polished diamonds. As of 2003, there were about 80 diamond polishing firms in China, employing 25,000 cutters. According to the customs authorities, these enterprises produced $1 billion worth of polished goods last year. The "China Cuf' has gained respect around the world. Skilled low-cost labour has made the Chinese industry very competitive. Wholesale moonstone Jewellery

Modern Gemmological Training: The Gemmological Institute of America (G.I.A.) has concluded an exclusive agreement with China's National Gemstones Testing Centre (N.G.T.C) to bring GIA's educational and training courses in gemmology to Beijing and other Chinese cities.

Joint Exploration Ventures: De Beers is involved in China through the Chichester Diamond Services, which signed a joint venture agreement for exploration with the Shandong Geological Bureau. Chichester have continued this joint venture and extended it to Liaoning province. Wholesale turquoise Jewellery A De Beers' Diamond Information Office is also functioning at Shanghai.