Mogok

Mokok is a city (population 150,000) in the Sagaing Division of Myanmar, located 200 km north of Mandalay and 148 km north-east of Shwebo. At 1170 meters in elevation, the city has fairly temperate climate year-round, and is home to mostly Bamar, with large minorities of Shan, Lisu, Palaung, Karen ethnic groups, as well as Chinese, Indians and Nepali.

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Mogok has been famous since ancient times for its gemstones, especially ruby and sapphire, but semi-precious stones such as lapis lazuli, garnet, moonstone, peridot and chrysoberyl are also found. The gems are found in alluvial limestone gravels by means on panning, tunneling and digging pits by hand. There is little mechanization of the mining.

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Gems are sold in markets in Mogok; however, foreigners require special permits to visit the town, and purchase/export of gems from Myanmar at non-government licensed dealers is illegal.

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Sagaing Division: Sagaing Division is a division of Myanmar, located in the north-western part of the country between latitude 21? 30' north and longitude 94? 97' east. It is bordered by India?s Nagaland and Manipur States to the north, Kachin State, Shan State, and Mandalay Division to the east, Mandalay Division an...

Myanmar: The Union of Myanmar, formerly the Union of Burma, is the largest country (in geographical area) in mainland Southeast Asia. It is bordered by the People's Republic of China on the north, Laos on the east, Thailand on the south east, Bangladesh on the west, and India on the north west, with the Anda...

Mandalay: Mandalay (Burmese: ) is the second largest city (2000 pop. est. 801,707) and former royal capital of Myanmar (formerly Burma), and capital of the current Mandalay Division. The city is bordered by the Ayeyarwady River and is located at , 716 km north of Yangon. It is in the center of Myanmar's dry ...