Turquoise Production - Current and Historical Perspectives

Egypt was the first country to mine turquoise. Turquoise mines in the Sinai were reported to be producing turquoise nearly six thousand years ago. Today however, Egypt is only a minor producer of turquoise. The mines in Sinai produce little commercial grade turquoise. Some minor mining activities are in operation in other parts of the country. Persia or present day Iran was probably the second country to mine turquoise. The quality of Persian turquoise was much better than the Egyptian specimens. To this day, Iran continues to produce some of the best quality turquoise in the world. Turquoise was discovered on the North American continent about one thousand years ago. It was first mined in the town of Cerritos near Santa Fe, New Mexico. That source however, has been depleted by overexploitation, and today New Mexico is only a minor producer of this gemstone. The best quality turquoise in the US is mined in Arizona. The mines near Bisbee and Kingman have consistently produced turquoise that are of the highest quality, and in great demand for turquoise jewelry made in the Southwest. Nevada boasts of having over a thousand operational turquoise mines. The product from Nevada however is not comparable to turquoise from Arizona. Nevada however, is the largest producer of turquoise in the US. Overseas, China, Australia, Chile, and Peru have some turquoise mining operations, although the quality of specimens from these countries is only moderate. The turquoise from China in particular is generally of low quality.