Kishon Mine
Located in the biblical area of the tribe of Zebulun
“Rejoice, Zebulun, in your departure [to conduct business]… … For they will be nourished by the abundance of the seas, and by the treasures hidden in the sand.”
(Deuteronomy 33:18-19)
The Kishon River
The Kishon River, its sources reach the Gilboa Ridge, for about 70 km, through the Jezreel Valley, from the Kishon River Gap (the narrow passage between the Carmel and the Alonim Hills of Shfaram) and the Zebulun Valley, until it flows into the Mediterranean Sea in the Bay of Haifa. At the mouth of the river is the Kishon Port. Its drainage basin area is the second largest among coastal rivers, about 1,110 square kilometers, and along a significant part of its channel its flow is steady. On its long journey, the Kishon receives many tributaries that descend to it from the Galilee and Carmel Mountains.
Kishon River Biblical history
The Kishon River is mentioned in the Bible in the Song of Deborah in the Book of Judges as the river to which Sisera summoned “all his chariots, nine hundred chariots of iron, and all the people who were with him from the threshing floor of the nations” to fight Barak son of Avinoam, who had come down to him from Mount Tabor (Judges 4:13-14). The heavy and impermeable soil of the valley, which turned into a large swamp due to the rains and the flood of the river, made it difficult for the chariots and their cavalry to move, and when they fled towards the threshing floor of the nations, “the Kishon River swept them away” and caused them a complete defeat (Judges 5:21). The Kishon River is also mentioned in the Bible as the place of Elijah the Prophet’s victory on Mount Carmel: To this river the prophet brought down the false prophets (1 Kings 18:40).
The Blessing to the Tribe of Zebulun
When Jacob blessed the tribe of Zebulun, he alluded to the tribe’s inheritance in the Land of Israel: “Zebulun will dwell on the coast of the seas; he [will be] at the harbor of the ships, and his boundary will be at Zidon.” (Genesis 49:13). Indeed, when they divided the Land according to each tribe after Joshua’s conquest, the Bible recounts its specific boundaries in Joshua 19:10 – According to which commentaries based their maps showing the tribe of Zevulun dwelled on the strip of land between the Galilee Sea and the Mediterranean, which is for the most part the area that’s referred to today as the Zebulun Valley and the Izrael Vally. It’s situated at the bottom of Mt. Carmel and the city of Haifa.
Additionally, the virtues of this part of the land are described in the blessing that Moses gives to the tribe of Zebulun: “And to Zebulun he said: “Rejoice, Zebulun, in your departure, and Issachar, in your tents… For they will be nourished by the abundance of the seas, and by the treasures hidden in the sand”. (Deuteronomy 33:18-19)
There is an ancient Jewish story that describes the conversation between the tribe of Zebulun and God when the tribe complained that their brothers, the other tribes, had received productive and green land, fields and vineyards but they were given mountains, hills, seas and rivers – and The Creator answered, ‘The entire nation needs the “the treasures hidden in the sand” that exists within your borders’.
First-ever Certificate of Discovery in the History of the State of Israel
Despite the biblical sources for the existence of precious gemstones in Israel – the search for the deposits of precious stones in Israel only began in 2000 in accordance with a modern prophetic vision (of the Lubavitcher Grand Rebbe) – which focused on northern Israel.
From that date, the company began exploring the area and mapping the potential locations. The responsible exploration activity is managed in accordance with and subject to licenses and permits from the Inspector of Mines at the Ministry of Energy of the State of Israel, with care for preserving the environment and considering nature, and is carried out by a professionally trained and technically qualified workforce and accompanied by an international team of geological experts with decades of proven experience in their fields.
As part of the exploration activity, it was discovered that Mount Carmel consists of several volcanic bodies, some of which are composed of kimberlite rock (the source rock of diamonds and precious gemstones in the world). In 2004, a De Beers delegation arrived to inspect the kimberlite discovered in Israel, and defined it as having potential as a diamond-bearing deposit, after they found a diamond in one of the deposits.
The first economic gemstone deposit identified by the company is the Kishon Mine – located in the Kishon River area and defined as a secondary alluvial deposit – meaning that the gemstones concentrated in it were not formed in the depth of the river area, but rather reached it from the kimberlite source rock on the mountain via its tributaries and slopes.
In March 2020, the company was awarded a Certificate of Discovery by the Mines Supervisor at the Ministry of Energy of the State of Israel, confirming the discovery of an economic deposit on the banks of the Kishon River.
This is the first time in the modern history of the State of Israel that a deposit of precious gemstones has been discovered.
The diverse concentration of gem types found in the Kishon deposit has proven in practice which types of gems were formed in the primary sources on the Carmel, in Israel.
The Certificate of Discovery covers c.3.5km of the total length of the placer, that is estimated to contain approx. 2Mt of gem bearing gravel, which is estimated to contain an average of 1.5ct of precious gems per ton. This makes the precious gems mined from Israel – and able to be traded under license – extremely rare and sought after.
Gemstones found in Israel to date include – Garnet (red), Spinel (black and red), Sapphire (blue, olive-green and azure), Ruby, ilmenite, Zircon, Hibonite, Moissanite and Diamond.
Another amazing discovery was a gemstone, unique to Mt. Carmel, and therefore called Carmel-Sapphire – consisting of corundum (sapphire) and other minerals new to science, which earned it the Mineral of the Year for 2018 by the International Mineralogical Association.
Currently, the only gems traded on the market under license, meaning the only natural certified gems mined under license from the land of Israel – are traded exclusively under our HOLYGEMS brand – and include: Carmel-Sapphire, Garnet, Spinel, and Sapphire.
