Bright Green Crystals

Published by Paukwa on October 16, 2020

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Tsavorite. Image credit: Wikipedia

The man looked back at his time exploring, wandering, discovering and took a mental note of his nine-year tenure as a gem specialist. He had a little, leather bound pocket diary that he carried with him at all times. In it he documented the exceptional discoveries in East and Southern Africa.

CB’s work with the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority took him to Southern Rhodesia. He was one of the gem specialists undertaking the mission to find beryllium that would be mined and used as a lining for atomic reactors. He and his team camped near the site and spent the better part of the weeks ahead planning and eventually, mining begun. In the evenings, before he retired to bed, he’d take out his geological map, studying the areas surrounding the camp. He wondered if there were other rocks in surplus; rocks that could be cut and polished into gemstones.

It was this wonder that enabled action. One Sunday afternoon, he decided to explore a site a little further from camp. The sun was out and temperatures were high, clogging his mind and eventually his vision. It was unlikely, very unlikely, that he could meet a buffalo yet there was one, black and sturdy, staring directly at him and almost as soon as he realized the danger of the animal, a chase began. He fell into a gully and after what felt like hours circling the top of the hill, the buffalo left presumably to seek another target. CB waited a moment then began his ascent. As he walked, he inspected the rock exposures. And when he neared the top of the hill, he found an outcrop that contained small, bright green crystals. He would later note this in his pocket diary.

Six years later CB was further north of Rhodesia; this time in East Africa. He camped several kilometers from the majestic Kilimanjaro mountain which could be seen in the early mornings if the sky was clear. Despite the country having taken on the name ‘Tanzania’ some years before, when the indigenous people had claimed self-rule, some still referred to her as ‘Tanganyika’: her former name. CB explored a seemingly hidden valley where he found rhinoceros footprints implanted firmly in the ground. There too he found the small, bright green crystals. Though with each short adventure he took, he always kept an eye out for the rhino… You know what they say, “once bitten, twice shy”.

From Tanzania CB crossed into Kenya, temporarily settling on a small range of uninhabited, humpbacked hills that lay close to the border of the Tsavo National Park. This park had garnered international fame because of the buffalos, the elephants, rhinos, leopards and the vicious lions that had ripped thousands that built the first railway line in East Africa. The thought of the stories may have briefly discouraged CB, but he was determined to find the hidden gems in this country as well. But it was not worth having another buffalo scare, especially when there were more wild animals to stumble upon. He decided to build a tree-house in a large tree that overlooked the plains and on his first exploration around the hills, he found similar deposits of the same crystals he’d found in Zimbabwe and Tanzania.

It wasn’t until three years later, in 1971, that CB decided to give the green crystals an official name. Two things inspired and enabled naming the crystals. The first was the location where he found it. Then, because modern mineralogical nomenclature dictated that mineral names had to end in ‘ite’, the name given was Tsavorite.

These years and discoveries were journaled in the little, leather pocketbook he carried with him wherever he went. His name was Campbell Bridges and he was the gem specialist who discovered the #KeMineral Tsavorite.