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up and I peered in, I could not believe how intricate they were,
and how small and beautiful.
Dale showed me a map from the 1930s. The sapphires occur
along a five-mile strike deep within the earth. The only commer-
cial yogo mine operating today is the Vortex mine outside Lew-
istown, owned by Don Baide, whose son owns the Gem Gallery
in Bozeman.
Both Shirley and Dale pointed out that mining for yogo sap-
phires and sapphires in general is a very green practice environ-
mentally, compared to mining gold and other metals. Chemicals
are not used, and no wastewater is released from their mining.
Yogo sapphires do not need to be heat treated to enhance their
color like most sapphires; in fact, doing so would be detrimental
to the gem.
