MUZAFFARABAD, Sept 17: The Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) government has launched its own first ever diploma course on gemstone cutting and polishing, using the local youth to tap  the region’s potential in this sector.

The course kicked off here on Monday at the recently established ‘Centre of Basic Training in Lapidary’ under the Directorate of Mineral Resources, which has been equipped with cutting and polishing machinery from Sri Lanka.

According to Sardar Javaid Ayub, Director Mineral Resources, 24 trainees, including six girls, have been selected from over 80 applicants for the 6-month training programme, and will be trained in three batches by qualified personnel hired from the neighbouring Khyber Pakhtunkhwa region.

The trainees will also be given a stipend based on their attendance and performance, he said.

Experts say precious and semi-precious gemstones are spread across AJK and include rubies, tourmaline (green and pink), spessartine garnet (yellow and orange), aquamarine, topaz and quartz (rock crystals).

The assessed potential of Nangimali ruby deposits in Neelum valley, at an elevation of nearly 14,000 feet, is more than 40 million grams. These deposits produce pink to red gemstones of up to roughly five carats in size and are reminiscent of classic Burma rubies.

However, currently only semi-precious stones are being mined at various scales in the private sector, whose methods include drills and the blast method. Due to such rudimentary techniques, most stones are destroyed and usually found fractured.

Mr Ayub said that due to inadequate processing infrastructure and skills, approximately 75 per cent of gemstone exports were in their raw form, which inflicts a significant loss.

The training programme is aimed at developing a skilled and semi-skilled labour force in the field of identification, cutting and polishing of gemstones and decorative stones, as well as their marketing on scientific lines in AJK, in order to reduce the wastage of gemstones during mining and to increase the production of flawless gemstones.

As a result, these stones will fetch a higher price in national and international markets, ultimately leading to the development of a cottage industry in the AJK.

Mr Ayub said that the second phase of the training programme would be aimed at developing a system of market oriented skills to meet growing market needs and to generate productive citizens for the state.

Earlier, in May 2010, the PGJDC, a subsidiary of the Pakistan Industrial Development Corporation, announced the establishment of a full-fledged training and processing centre in Muzaffarabad to add value to the rough gemstones found in the region.