'50% gemstones lost to outdated mining'

A meeting of the Prime Minister's Committee on Gemstone Policy on Friday flagged major structural gaps in Pakistan's gemstone sector, including massive losses during extraction, undocumented trade, and negligible value addition.

During the briefing, chaired by Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) Haroon Akhtar Khan, officials revealed that Pakistan's actual gemstone exports remain largely undocumented but are set to be formally registered. The Committee noted that nearly half of the country's gemstone output is wasted due to outdated mining practices and obsolete technology.

It further observed that 30-40% of precious stones are lost because of non-scientific blasting and drilling methods. Members also raised concerns that most gemstones are exported in raw form, without any value addition, significantly limiting the country's export earnings.

The Committee highlighted the sector's continued stagnation due to minimal international cooperation and investment. The SAPM said modern mining technologies could sharply improve both production and export volumes. He added that comprehensive value addition could multiply export figures, noting that Pakistan holds an undocumented gemstone export potential of $2 billion.