Gemstone industry in Greenland gemstone ruby. The native inhabitants continued to assist the European explorers with their ruby exploration, leading them to some half dozen locations, spread out for over a hundred miles along the southwest shores of Greenland, known as the Kitaa Coast. Ruby and pink sapphire are the red and pink varieties of the mineral corundum, an aluminum-oxide mineral Al2O3. The pink/red colour is formed in corundum by adding the element chromium to its crystal structure. Spectroscopy of rubies from the Aappaluttoq occurrence in Greenland confirm the presence of chromium as well as showing absorption in the UV region indicating high Fe
Garnet pitta Garnet pitta The garnet pitta ("Erythropitta granatina") is a species of bird in the Pittidae family. It is found in Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, and Thailand. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests. It is threatened by habitat loss. The form occurring in the Malaysian state of Sabah has been split as the black-crowned pitta ("Erythropitta ussheri"). The garnet pitta is an insectivore, feeding mainly on ants, wood grubs, cockroaches, and beetles. The Garnet pitta is about 17 cm long. The bird has a black head with a bright blue stripe at the eyebrows and a