Expedition for green sphalerites to Bulgaria

Even in the summer we did not slack off and tried to prepare something interesting for our clients. The choice fell on Bulgaria, specifically on the area of Madan about 10 km from the Greek border.

Mines and delicious Bulgarian cuisine – simply paradise on earth

Sphalerite Madan, Bulgaria

There were cut gem sphalerites here in the past. Unfortunately, this is about 35 years ago and today most of the shafts are closed and it is impossible to obtain (re-purchase) new material. This task has been entrusted to colleagues in our company who specialize in the impossible.

Sphalerite is a common, very important zinc ore. Sphalerite is commonly found in nature and can still be found in many locations in Bohemia (e.g. Příbram, Stříbro near Plzeň, Kutná Hora, Horní Slavkov and many others). These localities provide a large amount of material, but unfortunately it is not suitable for jewellery processing. Today, it is possible to obtain very high quality sphalerites from the Aliva mine in Spain, in the Picos de Europa mountains(Cantabria Province).
Here, sphalerites of mainly yellow, orange, cinnamon and brown colour are found. These colours are extremely attractive and that is why Spanish sphalerites are among the gemstones sought after not only by gemstone collectors, but also by jewellers and even investors. You can also buy Spanish cut sphalerites here in the e-shop.

But we were fascinated by a completely different colour – poisonous green. We first saw these stones in the offer of a prestigious Japanese jewellery company. These sphalerites came from Dzhezkazdan in Kazakhstan. Unfortunately, this material is now completely consumed and it is impossible to find new quality raw material that could be processed. From the literature we learned that identically green sphalerites were also found in Bulgaria. We first consulted colleagues and collectors from Bulgaria about the occurrence. Virtually all of them confirmed that these very attractive colours were indeed present in Bulgaria, while at the same time discouraging us from trying to get hold of any, saying that these stones were last found more than 35 years ago.

The actual expedition started in Sofia at the Geological Institute and Museum of the Earth, where we sought information about which vein these green sphalerites were supposed to come from. We then checked the information with living geologists in Sofia and then in Plovdiv. Equipped with theoretical information and a lot of discouraging advice, we set off for Madan. Madan is a picturesque mountain town with lots of Orthodox churches, Roman Catholic churches and Muslim mosques, and the occasional statue reminding us of the socialist order.

There are European dressed ladies walking around the city, as well as ladies in Balkan slightly veiled traditional clothes to ladies belonging to Turkish, Macedonian or Greek ethnicity (we did not look for guys, because only the male staff of e-gems participated in the expedition, so we cannot report).

welcome to the Balkans
(Bulgarian: welcome to the Balkans)

Whoever says that Istanbul is the gateway to the Orient has probably never been to Madan. Madan is a traditional mining town, where the focus was on polymetallic ore – sphalerite, galena, chalcopyrite, barite, pyrite, and others, and gold and silver were also mined as a by-product. The local samples of polymetallic vein minerals are extremely aesthetic (and also extremely fragile).

But back to the precious sphalerites. We found the entrance to the old mine quite easily, fortunately the Bulgarians don’t invest in pointless closing of old mines. They just put a sign in front of the mine that says “Внимание Опасност от смърт” (Attention Опасност от смърт) and if you want to lose your life, you can do as you please (kind of like our health minister’s warning that smoking is bad for your health).

Entrance to the abandoned mine after the mined out vein

Abandoned mines with heaps of mined material (which unfortunately have no minerals)

Bergbau romantik – a tailings pond right in the town, the vegetables here are really balanced in trace elements

The bulging vein

A slightly more brutal way to get to the other side of the valley

When we saw the sorry state of the entrance and part of the corridor, even the toughest colleague said something about the end of the digestive system. However, after a very difficult journey, we managed to get into the abandoned underground passage system of the original mine by climbing equipment. Here, after about 3 km at a depth of about 350 m below the surface, we reached the abandoned workings where we managed to find several pieces of super high quality green sphalerites. It was a great joy, we spent a total of five full days underground without a break.

The tunnel, there’s not much reinforcement

Former engine room underground

Although it looks abandoned, the shaft is still functional today.

Former Mines Headquarters

For those interested in collecting at Bulgarian sites, it should be noted that in Bulgaria they have so-called ecological police who stop cars and check very carefully what you are taking. Minerals in general are one of the materials of particular interest to these police. Also, there are still very careful checks at the border to neighbouring Romania (looking mainly for cigarettes, tobacco and alcohol), even though Romania and Bulgaria are in the European Union. The situation is exactly the same with neighbouring Serbia (which is not yet in the European Union). e-gems is probably the only company in the country that has a permit to extract and handle minerals in Bulgaria.

Expedition for green sphalerites to Bulgaria

Links

For customers

Contact