Where are the Azure or Lapis lazuli Mines?

Lapis lazuli from Afghanistan (width - ca . Lapis lazuli from near Lake Baikal, Russia (height - 7. Lapis lazuli cuff links, tie tack and necklace (length - ca . DESCRIPTION: Most lapis lazuli comprises a crystalline aggregate made up largely of blue lazurite (a mineral of the sodalite group), plus noteworthy amounts of macroscopic white calcite and pyrite grains. Some lapis lazuli contains one or more of the other minerals of the sodalite group -- hauyne, nosean, and sodalite per se -- along with or in lieu of the lazurite. The lapis lazuli widely considered to be of highest quality contains relatively small,  rather evenly distributed pyrite grains and relatively small percentages of  or no calcite.   Some lapis lazuli appears roughly color-laminated in different shades of blue.   In addition, lapis lazuli, along with other gemrocks such as malachite, rhodochrosite and sugilite, has been used in mosaics and high quality intarsias (gemstone inlays) used in pendants, box panels, etc. , lapis lazuli, along with nacre, was used in marquetry found in an ancient tomb in Ur, Chaldea (now southern Iraq). , as veins, layers or lenses in so-called contact metamorphosed impure calcareous and/or dolomitic rocks with or without associated evaporite units;   at least some lapis lazuli appears to have been formed primarily in response to thermal metamorphism accompanied by little, if any, hydrothermal and/or pneumatolytic activity. NOTEWORTHY LOCALITIES: Along the Kokcha River, near Sar-e-Sang, Badakhshan Province, Afghanistan;  near Sludyanka on Lake Baikal, Siberia, Russia;  in eastern Chile, near the Argentina border, approximately 45 miles northeast of Illapel, State of Coquimbo;  near Lake Harbor, southern Baffin Island, Canada;  in San Bernardino County, California;  and near the timberline of North Italian Mountain, of the Sawatch Range of the Rockies, approximately 35 miles northeast of Gunnison, Gunnison County, Colorado. (2000) tabulate localities and pertinent references for localities from which lapis lazuli was recovered during the 1990s. Lapis lazuli from Afghanistan has long been considered to set the quality standard.   Some connoisseurs, however, consider certain lapis lazuli from other localities to be of nearly, if not truly, equal quality -- e. , some lapis lazuli mined in the Coquimbo Region or the Chilean Andes since the early 1900s  is considered virtually as good as the so-called top-grade Afghanistan material. -- This lapis lazuli is, by the way, extremely interesting mineralogically;  it is composed largely of blue lazurite, with noteworthy calcite, diopside, haüyne, pyrite, scapolite, and wollastonite along with trace amounts of afghanite, allanite, arsenopyrite, chalcopyrite, epidote, plagioclase feldspar, pyrrhotite, siderite, sodalite and tremolite as accessory minerals -- (see Coenraads and deBon, 2000). REMARKS: In pre-Middle Ages literature, lapis lazuli was usually referred to as sapphire (or its equivalent)-- e.   In any case, the current name for lapis lazuli appears not to have come into use until the Middle Ages when it was derived from the ancient Persian "lazhuward" (blue) and/or Arabic "lazaward" (Heaven, sky, or blue). Some lapis lazuli, especially that with relatively large amounts of included calcite, has been dyed to make it appear bluer;  in some cases, the dye has been applied selectively to the white constituent(s). Some dyed lapis lazuli has been waxed, oiled or coated with a polymer to improve its luster and/or to cover and preserve applied dye. Naturally greenish blue lapis lazuli from some localities seems to take on a more desirable dark blue appearance after exposure to the elements (light, etc.     In general, however, lapis lazuli jewelry, carvings (etc. Afghanistan lapis lazuli was found in the 7th century B. archaeological site designated as the ancient city of Mehrgarh, in the Indus Valley of what is now Pakistan. , lapis lazuli from the Badakhshan mines was transported, chiefly by camel caravan, to China, India and Tibet, and later to Egypt, where it was fashioned into scarabs and amulets, and shortly thereafter it reached other Mediterranean countries. lapis lazuli-bearing Sumerian court jewelry, carvings, etc. lapis lazuli constitutes the eyebrows and areas around the eyes of the gold mask of the mummy of Tutankhamun (1361-1352 BC). Lapis lazuli was ground to produce ultramarine pigment as early as the 11th century A. Marco Polo visited the famous Afghanistan mines in the late 1200s. When and where the term "heaven stone," or some variant thereof, was first applied to lapis lazuli seems lost in antiquity.   In any case, when many people look at a piece of jewelry or something else fashioned from a fine piece of lapis lazuli, they seem almost inevitably to compare its overall deep blue hue with the evening sky and its scattered grains of goldlike pyrite to the stars, and some people even note that the white calcite areas resemble clouds.   My belief is based on the fact that the pin is a polished hemisphere of lapis lazuli, very likely from Afghanistan, apparently the training grounds for Osama bin Laden's terrorists. In some schemes, lapis lazuli is considered the birthstone for December. SIMULANTS:  Along with the distinguishing properties listed in square brackets ([ ]) most simulants for lapis lazuli can be seen with the naked eye or with aid of only a handlens to be virtually single phase materials whereas lapis lazuli can be seen to be made up of more than one mineral.   However, one lapis lazuli imitation has recently been found to consist of ground fragments of  (Not recorded, but possibly even lazurite) with the metallic-appearing veining made up largely of microscopic flakes of brass within a plastic resin rather than pyrite. Calcite marble (e. - [Each of these materials effervesces with dilute HCl at room or slightly elevated temperatures whereas only the white portions of some lapis lazuli so-react]. - [more homogeneous than lapis lazuli]. Howlite dyed blue - [Hardness of howlite (3½) is less than all but certain, sometimes present, minor constituents of lapis lazuli. - [Jasper is more homogeneous than lapis lazuli, although rough material may contain crystal-lined micro cavities; in addition, typical jasper lacks pyrite. ***Lapis lazuli ware - Wedgwood china, colored and patterned to resemble lapis lazuli. Marble dyed blue - [Hardnesses of chief marble constituents are less than all but minor constituents of lapis lazuli. ***Reconstructed lapis lazuli - consists largely of barium sulfate (dyed?!) with or without pyrite. - [Hardness of serpentine (2½ - 3½) is less than all but minor constituents of lapis lazuli. - [Typically is more homogeneous than lapis lazuli and generally lacks pyrite. , it lacks the non-blue minerals typical of natural lapis lazuli;  the other one contains emplaced pyrite inclusions that do not exhibit the crystal shapes of the typcial pyrite of lapis lazuli.