There are some huge open cast mines in the area between Ilakaka and Sakaraha, in which some 300 people are either employed by Patrons on a regular salary, or small groups of people that are allowed to mine there, and in exchange must sell their stones to the mine owner.

For the Sapphire miners the rewards can be great - working as part of a 'patron's' team pays up to 6 times more than farming. But that still means a maximum wage of $1.75 per day - most miners live well below the World Bank's poverty line of $1.00 per day.

Laborers dig in search of gems, in the province of Fianarantsoa. They work in societe's of 3 to 5 people, who share the profits of any stones found. They operate without any infrastructure - no ventilation or roof supports and can spend hours below ground - working in tunnels that branch out from the main shaft. The Ministry of Mining and Energy reports 2 to 3 deaths from collapsed tunnels per day.

Mining has a massive impact on the landscape near Fianarantsoa.

A Sapphire miner carrying a panning tray. In the background there are shacks of Sapphire buyers waiting for the miners to come with their daily found. This area in south west Madagascar is being mined for years, relying on the work of local villagers and people who migrated to this area hoping to get rich.

A new sapphire deposit creates a migration wave and newly built shanty towns on the river bank. There are hundreds of people living there with no basic infrastructure; no roads or schools and many children work with their parents in the mines. In a year's time this deposit will dry up and the people will move again up the river to find a new mining place.

A new sapphire deposit creates a migration wave and newly built shanty towns on the river bank. There are hundreds of people living there with no basic infrastructure; no roads or schools and many children work with their parents in the mines. In a year's time this deposit will dry up and the people will move again up the river to find a new mining place.

A buyer and his guard cross a river, to get to a new, remote mining shantytown.

Outside the Sapphire mining regions tourmaline, emeralds, beryl and rubies draw people away from traditional farming to dig. Many men leave villages to work in remote mines for a week at a time. In Ihazofotsy Village, women that do not accompany them are left to work the land, take care of the kids, and get them to church on Sunday.

With so much money floating around from the Sapphire rush, and mines located in extremely remote, lawless places, Malagasi traders are often accompanied by off duty soldiers or policemen for protection.

A local Madagascan buyer is presenting Sapphire that he bought and were mined near the town of Bezaha. There is a tiny segment of the Malagasi society that succeeded in becoming rich from the sapphire trade. They act as middleman who buy directly from the miners and than sell the stones to foreign buyers.

The heart of the Madagascan Sapphire trade, Ilakaka, is known as the 'wild west' boomtown where the first Sapphire was discovered in 1991. Most of the foreign buyers are Thai and Sri Lankan. They buy the rough stones and export (often illegally) to their countries to cut and later sell on the international market.

Local kids play football in the town of Ilakaka.

Women take a big role in the trade - they go down the mines and buy stones directly from the diggers for a very low price, than selling to another Malagasi middleman or to a foreign trader who than exports the stones out of the country. Only 2% of the trade is being exported legally.

On the outskirts of Ilakaka, the centre of the Sapphire trade, there's a rush every evening after the day's work, of Malagasi middleman trying to sell their goods to Sri Lankan buyers.

With so much money floating around from the Sapphire rush, people have traveled from across the country in search of their slice of Illakaka's wealth. Many women come to Ilakaka and start working as prostitutes - hoping to find foreigners or middlemen in nightclubs, and save enough money to go back home and open small businesses.

Prosperette arrived from Fort Dauphin to Ilakaka after the "Sapphire rush" with her boyfriend and her two kids. They separated and she now works as a prostitute to support her family. She shares a room with 3 other women and is trying to save up money to go back home.

3 young women share a room in Ilakaka, where they work as prostitutes.

With so much money floating around from the Sapphire rush, people have traveled from across the country in search of their slice of Illakaka's wealth. This 17 year old girl was sent to Ilakaka by her parents to work as a prostitute.

Tsimanea is 16 years old. Mining in Ilakaka with his mother, they work alone and dig only the pits of the nearby deserted mines. He has never attended school, because of the lack of facilities in the town and the pressing need to help support his family.

Batena and her three kids moved to Ilakaka after she separated from her last husband and couldn't support her family by staying in village. They moved to Ilakaka hoping to get rich but usually the stones they find cover only the daily expenses. Batena is now expecting another child, and is worried about how the family will manage, entirely dependent on her 16 year old son working in the mine.

Batena and her three kids moved to Ilakaka after she separated from her last husband and couldn't support her family by staying in village. They moved to Ilakaka hoping to get rich but usually the stones they find cover only the daily expenses. Batena is now expecting another child, and is worried about how the family will manage, entirely dependent on her 16 year old son working in the mine.

A new sapphire deposit creates a migration wave and newly built shanty towns on the river bank. There are hundreds of people living there with no basic infrastructure; no roads or schools and many children work with their parents in the mines. In a year's time this deposit will dry up and the people will move again up the river to find a new mining place.