“Through training and certification for students and other stakeholders, the workshop will be instrumental for the promotion of gem trade in this region,” said Mumtaz Alam, KIU spokesperson.
The event will be held at the KIU campus in Gilgit.
With industry insiders taking part in discussions and sharing their valuable experiences, the outcome of the consultative workshop will be a rich cache of data that will be available to the university, said the spokesman.
The mountainous Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B) is said to be a depository for hundreds of precious gemstones. However, lack of technical knowledge among the local populace and limited access to international markets are the biggest hurdles in capitalising on the valuable stones.
Most locals cannot differentiate between ordinary stones and gemstones, making it difficult to find a good deal while selling them.
If proper cutting and polishing is done, experts say, the market value of these gems goes up manifold and people will see greater profits.
In G-B, people carry out mining in traditional ways, leading to wastage of a large quantity of precious gemstones. Though the G-B minerals department issues licences for mining, locals usually don’t require any permission and usually form groups for diggings and blasting, endangering both the quality and quantity of the stones, and the environment.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 10th, 2011.
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