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Uva Province, Sri Lanka: Ratnapura & Pelmadulla Sapphire Mines

Sri Lanka's Pelmadulla Mine is located 15 km south-east of Ratnapura (aka "City of Gems") in the Sabaragamuwa province of south-central Sri Lanka. Ratnapura's Pelmadulla mines are the traditional hand-dug pit mines found under rice paddies as well as mechanized small-scale mining operations. Ceylon-blue and Padparadscha sapphire is mined in pits, dug in the fields that carpet the valley floor.

The city of Ratnapura (with the Ratnapura Gem Museum) is located 101 kilometers south-east of Colombo, on the Colombo-Ratnapura highway. Alluvial sapphire deposits are found in gem-bearing river gravels (illam), in ancient flood plains and streams that are now covered with farm land throughout this region.

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