Conference on Turquoise Industry and Culture

The University of Neyshabur in northeastern Khorasan Razavi Province, is hosting the first conference on ‘Turquoise: Industry and Culture,’ from May 2-4.

March 5 is the last date for submission of articles to the event secretariat for the three-day meet.

Turquoise is a rare gemstone worldwide, found only in limited mines in Iran, the United States, Egypt, and China. The gemstone has long been prized for its intense color, which varies from sky-blue to green, depending on the quantities of iron and copper within. 

Around 50 metric tons of turquoise ore are extracted from Neyshabour mines annually. 

The conference will look at the turquoise industry in three ways: One is the geological and mining approach, dealing with geology, petrology and mineralogy of turquoise ore.  Geochemistry and transformations of the ores are also among the topics that will be covered, as also the modern methods and techniques used in extraction of turquoise ore.

The second is gemological and commercial in which gemology of turquoise in both classical and modern schools will be discussed. The methods and standards for improvement of turquoise will also be debated. The conference aims to introduce new methods in processing and cataloguing the exquisite Iranian turquoise.

The third approach will deal with its archaeology and history, and exploring vernacular knowledge and techniques in processing the mineral. Turquoise will also be discussed in the context of tradition and religion. The conference will view this gemstone from anthropological and sociological points of view, and discuss its potentials in the tourism industry.

More information is available on the website of the conference, firooze.neyshabur.ac.ir/firooze.