Gem garnet in pegmatites from Neelum valley, Azad Kashmir
Abstract
The upper Neelum valley is occupied by a gout) of basement rocks of Precambrian to early Paleozoic age and a cover of younger rocks. Both the basement and cover contain Late Paleozoic(?) mafic sheets. There are at least two sets of pegmatites, one pre-dating and the other post-dating the mafic sheets. A few of these contain green tourmaline, pink beryl, and colourless topaz. One of the Pegmatites near the village of Phullawaii contains bluish green tourmaline and gem garnet. The garnet is well-formed and reaches up to 30 gin weight. It is clear, transparent, takes a good polish, and ranges from yellowish red to tangerine and crimson red. Many spots analysed in two tiny (<0.5 cm2) grains are uniform in composition. The garnet is rich in spessartine (79.9 mole %), with small amounts of almandine (15.3 mole %) and grossular (4.4 mole %) components.
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