• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.47 no.6
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• pp.563-569
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• 2014

Ruby is one of the most favor colored gem, for beautiful red tone, be high in scarcity value. However, rubies with high quality are produced in restricted regions, such as in Thailand, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, and Tanzania etc., and they have been gradually exhausted by mining for a long period. Therefore, improving qualities of low level rubies with various treatments is arising an alternative way to obtain better rubies. Gemological and mineralogical properties of the natural ruby from Tanzanian were studied with heat treatments. Those characteristics were compared between only heat and adding flux materials under heating. Tanzanian raw rubies were applied a heat treatment ($1,600^{\circ}C$ for 6 hours). However, chromameter and UV-Vis analyses found that a simple heat treatment is inappropriated for the Tanzanian ruby. Although $Cr^{3+}$ containing for red color in the ruby increased with heat treatment, the ruby displays dark medium red because of Fe in the ruby as a form of $Fe_2O_3$. The low transparency after heat treatment is attributed to the recrystallization of $SiO_2$ which has a low melting point. Chromameter confirmed adding Pb-containing flux under heating greatly improves the clarity and color of Tanzanian rubies with micro-fractures and cavities on the surface. EMPA results show that Pb as an additive fills the cavities and cracks on raw Tanzanian rubies during the heat treatment. As a rewult of it, the quality of the Tanzanian ruby raw dramatically improved. These results indicate that the heat treatment with an additive (Pb in this study) is an effective way to obtain better quality of the Tanzanian ruby. Consequently, this study suggests a suitable method to improve the properties of the Tanzanina ruby. The result of this study would provide useful information to upgrade the qualities of similar gem stones such as corundum and sapphire.

• Journal of the Mineralogical Society of Korea
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• v.18 no.4 s.46
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• pp.313-323
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• 2005

XRD, XRF, EPMA, FT-IR, and SEM-CL studies were carried out in order to characterize gemological features of corundum from Tanzania. Fluorescence reaction of the Tanzanian corundum to short and long wave ultraviolet rays was weakly detected. Inclusions in Tanzanian corundum are divided into five types, Type I is fluid-rich inclusion, Type II is gas-rich inclusion, Type III is liquid $CO_{2}$ inclusion, Type IV is solid-rich inclusion, and Type V is a mixture of fluid and solid inclusion and daughter minerals. SEM-CL images show twin structure with growth texture, microphenocryst of spinel solid inclusions, massive and growth texture. Ruby and sapphire from Tanzania are distinctly distinguished by concentrations of Fe and Cr, and plotted in the particular field at $Al_{2}O_{3}/100-Cr_{2}O_{3}-Fe_{2}O_{3}$ diagram. According to FT-IR analysis, all corundum specimens from Tanzania showed the similar patterns, and absorption peaks of $455.09\~459.23\;cm^{-1},\;603.15\~611.71\;cm^{-1},\;1509.00\~1655.05\;cm^{-1}\;and\;3436.41\~3468.87\;cm^{-1}$. These distinctive characteristics mentioned above can be used to identify the locality and source of corundum stones from Tanzania.