Jade Mining

Exploration - This process involves drilling into the mountain side with Water cooled diamond tipped core drills. The cores are than extracted and examined to determine if the Jade will meet the gem grade requirements suitable for our finished products and gem stones. Since the Mining season is so short, and the Jade so difficult to remove from the mountainside, our miners have to be very selective about which Jade Deposits they will focus their energy on.

Breaking Out - After the Jade Cores have been examined, and quality has been determined, the miners will analyze the face looking for cleavage points. These natural joints can be exploited to remove the Jade. More core holes will be drilled, and heavy hydraulic spreaders will be inserted into these cracks to push the Jade apart.

Breaking out is an incredibly difficult process in Jade Mining, because of the composition of Nephrite Jade. Nephrite Jade is the toughest rock on the planet, instead of having a crystalline structure like granite, it is composed of tightly interlocked fibers. These tightly meshed fibers make splitting efforts far more difficult than any other gemstone.

After the heavy hydraulic splitters have forced the Jade apart, Heavy Machinery is used to pull the Jade out.

Cutting - After the jade boulders have been broken out, they are then taken to huge diamond saws to be reduced to managable sizes.The sawyer will also cut windows into the boulder to better expose the beautiful Jade within.

Shipping - After the boulders are selected and cut, they are then loaded into huge trucks, to be transported to the village of Dease Lake, the nearest settlement a full day drive away. Once in Dease Lake the Jade is unloaded to wait for the end of the season, when all of the Jade is then trucked down to our Vancouver Warehouse.