Country Produces Unique, Blue Mineral Export to Begin Soon 'To coincide With Millennium'

Ethiopia is set to start exporting its unique blue marble that has gripped admirers, collectors and jewelers for the past few years, the Ethiopian News Agency reported citing the National Mining Corporation, a member of MIDROC Ethiopia which it said was running the operation to export the new blue variety.

The blue marble, which is not of jewel quality like the deep blue to purple tanzanite, will be exported soon, to coincide with the approaching Ethiopian millennium Tanzanite, which is found only in Tanzania, was discovered in the Meralani Hills of the country in 1967 near the city of Arusha. It is a blue variety of the mineral zoisite.

Marble, which can either be of limestone or dolostone, is a prized material for sculptures, construction and industry.

Italy produces unique white Carrara marble which is valued for use in sculpture, as its thought to impart a "life-like" glow to completed works.

Other types of marble unique to their regions are black marble from Kilkenny, Ireland; Llano Pink from central Texas; Makrana from India; Boticena from Pakistan; Thassos from Greece; Macael from Spain; and Royal White marble from China.

National Mining Corporation Executive Officer, Melaku Beza told the Ethiopian News Agency that the corporation has finalised preparations to launch mining and exporting the marble from the Benishangul Gumuz State.

Melaku said the quality and standard of blue marble, named the Millennium Stone, has been examined by Italian laboratories.

Its export, he said, is expected to contribute to the East African country's economy.

The corporation has finalised the installation of machinery to extract the mineral and prepare it for export, a few months ahead of the Ethiopian New Year in September.

Along with introducing the new Millenium Stone to the world, the boost to machinery at the mine's site would increase the volume of white marble which is also being quarried there.

Ethiopia celebrated Christmas day, 1999 on January 7 this year and is now looking forward to celebrate the year 2000.

The Ethiopian calendar system is one of a kind, as it was developed by the indigenous Coptic Church.

The church used ancient Egyptian astronomic calculations, the Jewish calendar and the Julian calendar, which was adopted under Julius Caesar and is the root of all Christian date calculators.