Webinar: Amber from Myanmar

Webinar by Tay Thye Sun.

It is a well-known fact that Myanmar (Burma) is famous for its ruby, sapphire, spinel, jadeite-jade and rare gemstones but not many people know that Myanmar also produced amber. According to historical record, Myanmar has been supplying amber (Burmite) to China since the 1st century, more than 2,000 years. Recent economic boom in China has reignited the interest to trade amber and as a result over the last two years, approximately 300,000 Burmese people were involved with mining and trading of amber. The major mining location is at Hukawng Valley, northern Burma. In 2010-11, a new discovery of amber in Hti Lin, Magway Region, central Burma, and the author visited the location in 2015 (this was published in the Journal of Gemmology, 2015, Vol.34, No.7, p606-615). The author will discuss the general information about amber, the occurrence of amber from around the world together with its geological age. Then focus Hti Lin mine, its geology, gemmological properties and FTIR result.

See the link under “learn more” to access free tickets to this event.