Aichacite: Alodia's Tragic Gem

Aichacite is a gemstone found nowhere else in the world but Alodia's Atagal Highlands. The known lodes are all, now, submerged by Lake Banneker, and mining has been carried on by expensive, submersible equipment. The story of "Alodia's gem" has more than its share of pathos and mystery -- and serves as a sort of catalogue of the problems associated with natural resource management in developing nations.

The gem was discovered in the early 60s under mysterious circumstances. Two men, a Mandinka herdsman named Sunny Matapo, and a Pakistani businessman, Tariq Sahee, recorded side-by-side claims in the Atagal highlands area. The stone was reputedly named for a woman whom Matapo wished to marry. Records of early mining efforts are either anecdotal or nonexistent, but enough of the stones were on the market by 1965 for it to have become highly desired among the "jet set". It was mined, however, in primitive shafts under very dangerous conditions. In 1966 the Alodian government issued a series of regulations aimed to restrict aichacite mining to those equipped to safely accomplish it. As a result, supply of the gem increased, and an "aichacite boom" ensued over the next two years.

The stone itself is usually classified as "semi-precious", but that designation is somewhat arbitrary, for its desirability rivals that of such gems as rubies and emeralds, and its price appears to have been kept down by its obscurity, its unusual name and wildly fluctuating supply. It is green in color, with flecks of blue. Its hardness and durability are on a par with the ruby - - far more so than the emerald. In any case, it is a beautiful stone. There are hints in legend that the stone's existence was a closely guarded secret long before its modern "discovery", but any tribal artifacts in which it may have been used have long since been plundered.

When the Alo dam was begun, aichacite miners immediately understood the threat, and mining activity was intense. Fewer aichacites reached the market than might have been expected, however, because of persistent violence over disputed claims. These disputes had been a part of aichacite mining from the start. Astoundingly, the local press suggested that the loss of aichacite mining due to the dam's completion was for the best. For example, the Aloville Herald editorialized, "Whatever else the dam accomplishes, it will afford the benefit of washing out, at least, our murderous avarice over the green stones".

That did not come to pass, however. A half-dozen unsuccessful attempts were made to bring the stones to light during the 1970s. But, Alodia simply did not have the technology to mine gems in submerged 100-foot shafts. Finally the aichacite franchise was awarded to a French firm in 1981, which used deep-ocean research craft to mine the stones. However, the lease agreement that the Alodian government negotiated for the mines turned out to be grossly undervalued. This was, perhaps, understandable, for the gem had brought little but destruction to Alodia for two decades. The new miners, however, deployed a skillfully-wrought campaign to recall aichacite's popularity from the 1960's, fanning the fires of romance and mystery that had always surrounded it. They succeeded, and prices have climbed ever since.

Last October the Alodian Army, in a move now seen to presage their recent takeover of the Alodian Government, seized the aichacite mines and impounded all the high-tech mining equipment. The government has asserted its right to rescind the ill- conceived lease agreements, and offered compensation to the owners of the equipment. The matter is currently pending under the World Court.