Is real jade expensive?
Gold has a price, but jade is priceless.
An old Chinese proverb.
An amazing stone: silky to the touch, soft and pleasant to look at. It seems like something extraordinarily tender, like a greenish cloud whipped by a thin girl’s hand. All the more surprising are its properties: it is twice as strong as steel, and its abrasion resistance is higher than that of granite. 
Gold has a price, but jade is priceless. An old Chinese proverb. An amazing stone: silky to the touch, soft and pleasant to look at. It seems like something extraordinarily tender, like a greenish cloud whipped by a thin girl’s hand. All the more surprising are its properties: twice as strong as steel, abrasion resistance higher than granite, viscosity indicators that have no analogues in nature among minerals. Tools made from jade, knives and weapons were valued much higher than their metal counterparts and not at all because of their aesthetic qualities. Once, they say, a cunning merchant, who often visited China and knew well the characteristics of jade, using its unusual properties, managed to make a good fortune for himself. He put up a small jade boulder for everyone to see and enjoy. Nearby are several sledgehammers to choose from and a hundred-dollar note – a lot of money, considering that before the revolution in Russia you could buy a cow for five rubles. For a kopeck, he offered to try his heroic strength and earn some money at the same time: he split a boulder with the first blow – the hundredth is yours, no – you can try again, but then you will have to pay another kopeck. There were many who wanted it, but the merchant remained with his boulder (safe and sound) and in good condition. However, science has long explained this phenomenon: to crush a jade sample, a force of approximately 7-10 tons per 1 cm 2 is required, while granite will require only 1-2,5 tons, and steel – 4-5 tons per cm 2 . One day at the Krupa plant they decided to conduct an experiment: a boulder of Siberian granite against a steam hammer. The cost of repairing the hammer had to be written off as unforeseen expenses for a long time. The Chinese writer Hiu-Chin attributes to jade five virtues corresponding to the five spiritual qualities of a person: soft shine – mercy; strength – moderation and justice; melodic sound – knowledge of sciences; inflexibility and immutability – courage; internal structure that cannot be falsified – cleanliness. Today, jade continues to enjoy wide popularity. Its mass, its body, consists of a huge number of the finest fibers, like felt, intertwined with each other in the most bizarre way, creating the strongest of all materials existing on earth. Jade was so highly valued in ancient China that it was even used as a material for making coins. Jade weights were used as a standard when weighing gold. Instead of credentials, ambassadors were presented with jade plates. The Aztecs and Mayans valued jade much more than gold, considering it a symbol of wealth and prosperity. Having learned that Cortez’s warriors only needed gold and silver, Montezuma said with relief: “Thank the gods that they don’t know about jade!” China was the first country to use jade as an artistic material. Its popularity in the Middle Kingdom is evidenced by the fact that in 1176 a whole treatise on jade was published in China. Compiled by a special commission, it consisted of a total of 100 books containing no less than 700 skillfully executed color illustrations. Vases and ritual figurines, insignia and coat of arms, various decorations and household items, even musical instruments and tombs, such as the world-famous tomb of Tamerlane, were made from jade.
| First name | nephritis |
| Aliases | kidney stone, Canadian jade, dianite, yu, punamu, hash, jasper |
| Nationality (class) | silicates |
| Chemical formula | NaAl(Si2O6) |
| Syngonia | monoclinic |
| Color | comes in a variety of colors, but is most commonly green, white, or beige-brown. White can be pure white, but green jade more often has yellowish, brownish or grayish undertones. |
| Brilliance | no |
| Transparency | opaque to translucent |
| Density | 2,8-3,3 g per cm3 |
| Kink | splintery |
| Hardness | 5,5-6,5 |
The shootout in Oka is just part of the “jade iceberg.” It’s unlikely that anyone will tell the whole truth about what happened there. This point of view was expressed to Inform Policy by a person who has certain knowledge of what is called the “jade business in Buryatia.” Let us note that he came to the conversation after much persuasion and a promise that his name and personal data would not be mentioned in any way. – It’s not because I’m afraid. There are simply certain moral obligations to the people with whom I had to share a crust of bread in the taiga. For the same reason, I will not reveal all the secrets of jade mining. Our interlocutor said that he would limit himself to some general information that would at least shed some light on what is happening in the “bear corners” of our republic. – Let’s start with a loud shootout in Oka. How often do such cases occur? “The situation there is something like this: the brigade has entered someone else’s territory. The second party called the violators “to talk.” At the “strelka” someone’s nerves could not stand it. Oka is mainly run by one Ulan-Ude group, well known in the 90s. By the way, she has a difficult relationship with the locals – Zakamensky, Tunkinsky, Okinsky. They don’t like strangers who encroach on their jade. However, what happened in Oka is quite a rare occurrence. – Why? – All deposits are divided. Everyone knows where they can work and where they can’t. Violators are punished. Everyone knows this well. Secondly, teams of miners living in the taiga for six months or more try not to conflict with each other. This is, after all, the taiga, where mutual assistance is indispensable. Here’s an example. The parking lot ran out of food and cigarettes. There’s a lot of jade, but there’s nothing to eat or smoke. The stone will be valuable only in Ulan-Ude. In the taiga it is worth nothing. What to do? They go to the neighboring “base” and ask to share. But if the team is in conflict with everyone around them, they will not be given a piece of bread in this situation. – But there was a shootout, didn’t it? This means that some kind of division did take place there. Is Oka jade really so valuable that people would kill for it? – Okinsky, Tunkinsky and Zakamensky jade, of course, has a price. But compared to Baunt’s, these are mere pennies. For a kilogram of Oka stone they give 500 dollars. There the jade gives off a greenish appearance. It is less valuable, called “stone from the seven” – jade from the seventh ore deposit. But you can also earn a foreign car or an apartment with it. Look how many expensive cars there are in the city and in the regions, driven by young people. Not officials, not deputies. All of them are officially unemployed. For the most part they are associated with jade. But in Baunt – yes there! There is especially valuable white jade there. Previously, a kilogram of top-quality jade from Kavokta fetched $5000. Now, however, no more than 3000 bucks. – For some, jade mining is something mysterious. How does everything happen? – If we talk about specific methods of extraction, there are two of them. The first way is to dig, and on an industrial scale, using excavators, bulldozers and other heavy equipment. How do they get her there? It’s easy – real roads have already been paved in the taiga. It’s safer to dig. Here they take in volumes. Jade is raked out in whole layers. The second way is to dive into rivers. Such miners are called “divers.” They collect jade pellets at the bottom, which are very valuable. If you find a large white pellet at the bottom of the river, you are guaranteed for life. The price reaches 12 million rubles! But this is the most dangerous method of extraction. Divers die every year, despite expensive scuba gear, compressors, and professional skills. Well, there is a third way – theft. However, this is fraught. – These are robberies, or what? – Theft. Robbery there, as they say, “won’t work.” The teams are very well prepared. They don’t take anyone there. Preference is given to people who are “experienced”, knowledgeable and skilled, who have undergone special training; often the guys who work there are those who have been through “hot spots”. Many have weapons. – Who goes to mine jade? – Irkutsk, Chita, Krasnoyarsk residents work in the taiga. From all over Russia. Recently, jade makers from Central Asia have appeared. They had their own deposits, but they ran out. So their “thieves” switched to Buryatia. But for the most part they are, of course, local. There are many urban ones, but even more rural ones. They are more resilient and know the taiga. And, most importantly, for them jade earnings are fantastic money. They usually enter the taiga in winter, when the rivers rise, and they can easily reach hard-to-reach points along the “winter road.” They bring in fuel and lubricants, food, equipment and tools. In addition, in winter the rivers freeze to the bottom. The searchers are chiseling the ice, looking for pellets. Then they sell it. – Who is buying? Chinese citizens right there? – There are no Chinese in the taiga, only ours there. I remember there were attempts by the Chinese to penetrate Baunt. They almost got shot there. And they sell the stone not in the taiga, but in Ulan-Ude, Irkutsk, Chita, etc. But jade goes only to China. Because no one else needs this stone. – And how much can you earn from selling? – Well, the workers themselves don’t sell. They only mine. Then they give everything to the people who hired them, provided them with tools, food, and “roof.” All the money goes to the “common fund”, from which money is allocated to the workers. On average, it comes out from 600 thousand to a million rubles per season. For everyone. – Isn’t it too much? – Fine. The volumes are huge! They transport jade with KamAZ trucks; they say that even helicopters were used before. Sometimes 50 tons are exported per season! So do the math. Prices are lower now. The price fell because production volumes increased sharply. Now they are digging there on a huge scale. “So we’ll write about how profitable this business is, and everyone and everyone will flock to the taiga. – They won’t rush. Not everyone can go to the taiga. You need skills, the ability to survive. My friends who go there know how to shoot and fight well. The psychological factor must also be taken into account. Not everyone can live in the taiga in a close group for six months or a year. There are also “thieves” there, i.e. those who spent time in the camps. They are no strangers to living in spartan conditions. Don’t forget that those who go there need considerable initial capital. You need tools, food, you need to pay to be allowed into the field. However, even if there is money, it is not a fact that they will let you through and, most importantly, they will let you out of there. Some, of course, make it through with a bang – they go it alone. They come for two weeks and go back. But this is rare. In addition, it is worth remembering that not everyone earns 600 thousand. Many return empty-handed or, even worse, in debt. – So, before going, you need to make contacts? With whom? – This is no longer a question for me. These issues are decided by people with connections in the criminal world. And they don’t hire just anyone. Certain “recommendations” are needed. By the way, the main income from sales accumulates with them. I heard that some seniors “raised” several million dollars per season. This is net income minus expenses for equipment, tools, food, and security. But even ordinary workers, if they’re lucky, have enough. It also happens that money is put into a common pot. This season they buy an expensive foreign car for one, and the next – for another. – Well, who is behind the brigades in Baunt, Oka, Tunka? Our people, Irkutsk, Chita, Muscovites? – I say again that prefabricated teams work almost everywhere. Some walk on the “rooftops” of Ulan-Ude crime, others are envoys from Chita (this is mainly Baunt), others are from Irkutsk (Tunka prey). There are many who walk near Moscow. And not only Moscow crime, but also representatives of a number of official structures. – There were a lot of rumors about grandfather Hasan, and about the “red roofs”, and about state corporations. – I won’t comment on this. I’ll just say – there is legal mining, and there is illegal mining. Our interlocutor flatly refused to talk about the specific people who run the jade business, citing the fact that he did not know their names. And he doesn’t want to slander anyone again. 
The fact that very serious people are involved in the jade business was once said by the former Minister of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for Buryatia, Viktor Syusyura. We think many people remember his famous phrase, which he said when leaving the pre-trial detention center: “In Buryatia, we stepped on the tail of the jade mafia.” But for some reason the general never said who exactly “stepped on the tail.” It is worth noting another interesting fact. Jade has been mined for many years. However, the hype only began last year. Most likely, the disappearance of a major player in the person of Dylacha from the market shook the established balance. The deposits were temporarily left without an owner. Taking this opportunity, teams of “black diggers” attacked them, trying to grab a piece of the “ownerless pie” during this time. Perhaps there was another factor at work. On January 30 of this year, one of the associates of grandfather Hasan, known in the criminal world, a certain Timur Tbilissky (Mirzoev), suddenly died. The same one who, according to the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation, was responsible for issues in the illegal business related to mining. And there was interest not only in gold, but also in jade. Even then, the police warned that the death of Mirzoev’s authority could provoke a showdown in the jade sector. “New conflicts may arise in Moscow, Sochi, Irkutsk and Ulan-Ude. Timur has a stake in the criminal business there, mining gold and stones like jade,” the Criminal World website reported at the time. Most likely, this also turned out to be true. Certain progress began in a different direction. Last year, the Ministry of Internal Affairs reported that a number of high-profile arrests were allegedly related to the operational development of jade gangs. But these cases, in fact, were not completed. Interestingly, in December, the Buryatia prosecutor’s office accused the local Ministry of Internal Affairs of the fact that the police are very weak in their work in the “jade direction.” They say that there are certain developments that the police are in no hurry to take advantage of. Why? By the way, it was this message that prompted an inspection of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for Buryatia – first by the Prosecutor General’s Office, then by the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs. The result is known – Minister of Internal Affairs Alexander Zaichenko unexpectedly went on vacation with subsequent retirement. However, there may have been completely different reasons. In the meantime, we can state that the jade redistribution has begun in Buryatia. But this time, completely different forces are taking on the division of the stone – more powerful and organized. Who? Time will show… Help Jade is a monomineral aggregate. The peculiarity of the rock is that jade is very difficult to split into pieces. The strength of jade is comparable to steel. The color is varied – from almost white, through all shades of green (yellowish, grassy, emerald, marsh) to almost black. Jade is used as an ornamental stone and as a unique material for making jewelry. Jade (Chinese: 玉, yu) is highly valued by the Chinese, who call it the “stone of life” and is their national stone. Jade in China was sometimes valued higher than gold and silver, because. This stone is believed to bring prosperity. An old Chinese proverb says: “Gold has a price, but jade is priceless.” The most famous varieties of jade in China. Khotan is the most valuable variety of white jade, called “mutton fat color,” with a thick, waxy matte luster. In ancient times, only the emperor could use products made from such jade. Xiuyan is a jade that is colored white or light green. Typically semi-transparent. Lantian is a yellow jade interspersed with green. Nanyang jade is the most common jade, also called Dushan jade. This is a translucent jade, colored yellowish or white with pinkish, green, and yellow inclusions. In Buryatia, 150-200 tons of jade can be mined per year. This is the largest share in the jade business, since out of one and a half dozen explored jade deposits, more than 90% are located in our republic. Let us list the most promising deposits. The list of subsoil areas proposed for licensing by geological services several years ago included: 1. Bortogolsky occurrence of jade, located in the southeastern part of the Eastern Sayan, Okinsky district. Forecast resources are estimated at 21,2 tons of high-quality jade. 2. Prospective area of the ore field of the Ospinskoye deposit (flanks of ore bodies) (Okinsky district). Forecast resources are estimated at 50 tons of high-quality jade. 3. Placers and deposits of the river. Tsipa and its tributaries in the Bauntovsky district. Prospective area is 4,5 sq. km. Inferred resources are estimated at 50 tons. 4. Aktragda-Amalat Square in the Bauntovsky district. Prospective area 4 sq. km. Inferred resources are estimated at 50 tons. 5. Placers and deposits of jade river. Bambuika and its tributaries in the Muisky district. Forecast resources are at least 50 tons. The length of the valleys is 70 km with an average width of 50 m. Note that this list does not include the Kavoktinsky jade deposit, and deposits in the Zakamensky and Tunkinsky districts are not indicated. In the world jade market, the main share is occupied by stone from Canada, Australia and Taiwan. However, the cost of this raw material is 10-100 times lower than the cost of jade from Buryatia. Chinese jade buyers are ready to pay $1 for 500 kg of green stone, and up to 10 thousand dollars per 1 kg for especially valuable “white jade”. Photo geolog.megasklad.ru
