The australian sapphire mining industry reading answers

The Australian sapphire mining industry answers practice tests is provided with answers and explanations. This passage comprises 13 questions divided into three question types -list of headings, true/false/not given and classify the following the statements.

Check out our YouTube Channel to Practice Full-Length IELTS Reading Tests Daily

 

Table of contents:

• Solution for the Australian sapphire mining industry
• The Australian Sapphire Mining Industry IELTS Reading Practice Test
• Passage
• Questions
• Answers with Explanations

Solutions for the australian sapphire mining industry

The australian sapphire mining industry reading answers are listed in the table below. Verify your answers against our answer table, then correct any inaccuracies.

Answer Table (h3)

1. iii	5.F	9.F	13.b
2.ii	6.T	10.c	14.d
3.vii	7.T	11.a	15.d
4.iv	8.NOT GIVEN	12.d

The Australian Sapphire Mining Industry IELTS Reading Practice Test - Exam Review

The Australian sapphire mining industry reading answers are given here, which will help you excel in the IELTS reading test to challenge your reading skills.Paraphrasing can help you to understand the ideas clearly which makes you able to efficiently answer the questions. 

Passage

We’ve provided the reading passage of The australian sapphire mining industry. Read the passage and carefully complete the questions. Check the answers with our The australian sapphire mining industry reading answers with locations.

The Australian Sapphire Mining industry 

A. Sapphires are traditionally thought of as blue. However, they actually come in a wide variety of colors. Another misconception is that sapphires are more common than diamonds. Although the laws of supply and demand ensure a higher price for diamonds, sapphires are in fact four times rarer.The mineral name is corundum. (Rubies are the same mineral but in a red form). The color variations in sapphires are caused by traces of mineral impurities within the corundum.
The sapphire is the traditional birthstone for September. It is also associated with 45th wedding anniversaries. The principal use of sapphires is of course in jewelry. Sapphires are very durable – only slightly less hard than diamonds – which make them ideal for jewelry which is designed to be worn on a daily basis. Especially popular are rings which combine sapphires with diamonds, often with stunning effects.

B. Sapphires occur principally in the alluvial gravels found in streams and underground drainage networks. In the early days of the industry, sapphire mining was largely done using manual techniques and simple hand tools. Surface or shallow deposits were raked by hand, and potentially sapphire-bearing material was picked out manually and sieved at the point of collection to separate out any gems.
Hand mining techniques were also used underground. Material excavated from mine shafts was loaded into buckets and raised to the surface with hoisting equipment.
Testing for deposits was done by sinking exploratory shafts. This was erratic, and had a low success rate, with sapphire deposits often being missed because of the limitations of the testing process.

C. In underground mining, modern hand-mining techniques are surprisingly similar to the methods used by the early miners. Naturally, though, nowadays these are supplemented by an array of mechanical methods involving powered machinery. In particular, the washing and separation of mined material are now almost entirely mechanized. In Australia, however, in order to preserve the quality of subterranean sapphire-bearing environments, the use of machinery is in many cases limited under state mining laws. The use of mechanical diggers and tunneling machines is not generally permitted, for example.Australian open-cut mining operations are not subject to the limitations described above. They tend to employ heavy earth-moving machinery to remove layers of topsoil in order to access the gem-bearing gravel layer below.

D.Sapphire mining operations in Australia began in the late 19th century, and Australia has become a major producer of gem-quality sapphires, supplying markets throughout the world.
Today, the bulk of commercially-mined sapphires from Australia are sent to Thailand and Sri Lanka for treatment and cutting. Attempts to relocate processing back to Australia have met with only limited success, due largely to the lower labor costs and a wider range of established facilities in the countries traditionally associated with gemstone processing.
Smaller stones are cut into calibrated sizes to supply the mass-market jewelry industry. The finest quality sapphires and unusual stones mostly find their way to niche markets in Europe and the United States.

E. In the late 1980s, Australia produced around 70% by volume of the world’s sapphires. Production has decreased considerably since then, but international demand for Australian sapphires remains relatively high. Although further production can be expected from existing fields, continued exploration and testing will be necessary if Australia is to continue to meet present levels of international demand into the long-term future.
Another factor which may influence the long-term prospects of the industry are rising production costs. In recent years miners in Australia have become responsible for addressing the environmental effects of mining operations, and have been liable for costs incurred in rehabilitating land environmentally degraded by their activities. This has rendered the industry vulnerable to competition from other sapphire producing countries where environmental regulations are less stringent. To offset this, the Australian sapphire mining industry must look to marketing strategies and value-adding techniques to ensure that the industry continues to be economically viable.

Questions 1-4

Reading Passage has five sections, A-E. Choose the most suitable heading for sections B-E from the list of headings below.

List of Headings
i. Marketing gemstones
ii. Present day mining
iii. Early mining techniques
iv. The future of the Australian industry
v. Introduction
vi. Australia’s domestic sapphire trade
vii. Part of the global sapphire industry
viii. The mass-market jewelry industry

Questions 5-9

Do the following statements agree with the information given in the passage? Write

TRUE if the statement agrees with the information
FALSE if the statement contradicts the information
NOT GIVEN if the information is not given

5. Sapphires are rarer and often more expensive than diamonds.
6. Sapphires and rubies are composed of the same substance.
7. Sapphires are mostly found in or near water.
8. Sapphires are probably the most difficult gem to mine.
9. Most of the best Australian sapphires are made into jewelry for sale in Australia.

Questions 10-15

Based on the information in the passage, classify the following statements.

A. Describes the Australian sapphire mining industry in the past only.
B. Describes the Australian sapphire mining industry in the present only.
C. Describes the Australian sapphire mining industry in the past and present.
D. Does not describe the Australian sapphire mining industry, past or present.

Write the correct letter, A, B, C or D, in boxes 10-15on your answer sheet.
10. Sapphires collected by simple manual methods.
11. Production of more than two-thirds of the world’s sapphires.
12. Underground mining mostly is done with heavy machinery.
13. Cutting off the stones mostly done overseas.
14. Known fields nearly exhausted.
15. Financial disaster very near.

Answers for the Australian Sapphire mining industry With Explanations 

The australian sapphire mining industry reading answers with explanations is given below. Refer to the following answers with an explanation section to correct your errors.

(Note: The text in italics mentions the location and referring lines written in the reading passage.)

1. Answer: iii
Explanation: early mining techniques is the correct heading for the paragraph b because This section discusses the early mining techniques used in the Australian sapphire mining industry. Located in section b between 2 - 6 lines. 

2. Answer: ii
Explanation: present day mining is the correct heading for the paragraph c because this section discusses modern hand-mining techniques and the use of mechanical methods in underground mining. Located in section c between first three lines. 

3. Answer: vii
Explanation: Part of the global sapphire industry is the correct heading for the paragraph d because this section mentions that Australia has become a major producer of gem-quality sapphires, supplying markets throughout the world located between first three lines of section d. 

4. Answer: iv
Explanation: iv, the future of the australian industry is the correct heading for the paragraph e because this section discusses the future prospects of the Australian sapphire mining industry, including factors that may influence it. Located in paragraph e between 6 - 10 lines. 

5. Answer: False
Explanation: located in paragraph A in first 2 - 5 lines, The passage does not provide information about the relative rarity or pricing of sapphires compared to diamonds. It mentions that sapphires are rarer than diamonds but does not compare their prices.

6. Answer: True
Explanation: located in paragraph A between 5 - 7 lines, The passage states that sapphires and rubies are the same mineral (corundum) but in different colors (blue for sapphires and red for rubies).

7. Answer: True
Explanation: located in Section B which mentions that sapphires occur principally in alluvial gravels found in streams and underground drainage networks, indicating their association with water.

8. Answer: not given
Explanation: The passage does not provide specific information about the difficulty of mining sapphires compared to other gems.

9. Answer: False
Explanation: located in section d, which mentions that smaller stones are cut into calibrated sizes to supply the mass-market jewelry industry, but it also states that the finest quality sapphires and unusual stones find their way to niche markets in Europe and the United States, suggesting that not all sapphires are made into jewelry for sale in Australia.

10. Answer: C
Explanation:  Sapphires collected by simple manual methods. This statement refers to the collection of sapphires using simple manual methods, which is discussed in both early mining techniques (past) and modern hand-mining techniques (present). Located in paragraph b. 

11. Answer: A
Explanation:  Production of more than two-thirds of the world’s sapphires. This statement mentions the production of more than two-thirds of the world's sapphires, which was true in the past (late 1980s). Located in paragraph E in first line. 

12. Answer: D
Explanation:  Underground mining mostly is done with heavy machinery. This statement refers to underground mining mostly being done with heavy machinery, but the passage does not provide such information. Located in paragraph c. 

13. Answer: B
Explanation: b,  Describes the Australian sapphire mining industry in the present only because this lines Cutting off the stones mostly done overseas refers to the cutting of stones mostly done overseas, which is discussed in the present-day context. Located in paragraph d.

14. Answer: D
Explanation:  Known fields nearly exhausted, This statement mentions known fields nearly exhausted, but the passage does not provide information about the exhaustion of sapphire fields. Located in paragraph E. 

15. Answer: D
Explanation: Financial disaster very near, This statement refers to a financial disaster being near, but the passage does not discuss the industry's financial state in such terms.

Other Reading Tests

• Robots at work reading answers
• Changing our understanding of health reading answers
• Green virtues of green sand reading answers