Department of Minerals is the government department working for the exploration and development of the mining industry in the region. A large variety of minerals and gemstones are found in these mountains: emerald and tourmaline are found in the north, and garnet and quartz are found in the Bajaur and South Waziristan agencies. In the central agencies of Khyber, Kurram, and Orakzai, the Safed Koh range is located while in the two southern agencies of Waziristan, the Sulaiman range along with Waziristan hills are located. The region is mostly dry and barren with hilly northern Bajaur and Mohmand agencies. The Federally Administered Tribal Areas are strategically located between the Afghanistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. The image shows bastnaesite crystal infused with rutile. Quartz from the region include Astrophyllite and Riebeckite fibers. The image shows a cluster of lime-green peridot crystals from Soppat in Kohistan. The image shows aquamarine on smokey quartz. The image shows pink and purple crystals of corundum. The image shows a specimen of aquamarine and emerald on quartz from Swat valley. Various types of quartz are found in the region.

According to one source, Swat has reserves of 70 million carats of emerald, Mardan has reserves of 9 million carats of pink topaz and Kohistan has 10 million carats worth of reserves of peridot. According to Bureau of Statistics of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 2568 tonnes of baryte and 85 tonnes of corundum were produced in 2005-20 tonnes of quartz was produced in 2006–2007 in the province. The province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has three large mountain ranges: Hindukush covers the area to north and north-west, Karakoram to the north and north-east, and Himalayas to the east. Some of the major mining areas along with their main gemstone yields are mentioned below: Pakistan's western and northern areas are home to three mountain ranges Hindukush, Himalaya, and Karakorum which are home to all the minerals found in Pakistan. There are also some private gem identification labs in Lahore, Karachi, and Peshawar which have qualified gemologists working in their labs. Since the inception of Pakistan Gems & Jewellery Development Company, the gemstone trade in Pakistan has seen a major uplift. For this purpose, Pakistan Gems and Jewellery Development Company is working in Lahore, Karachi, Peshawar, Quetta, Gilgit, Muzaffarabad and Sargodha cities where the major share of gemstone trade exists. The government of Pakistan to has established gem identification laboratories in major cities of Pakistan to promote the gemstone trade in Pakistan. The third Islamabad Gem Exhibition was held in February 2013 where 80 national gem traders displayed their products. In January 2012 exhibition, around two hundred companies from Pakistan displayed their items.

In Islamabad, so far three such exhibitions have been held. Pakistan Gems and Jewellery Development Company regularly holds Gem Bazaars (exhibitions) in Quetta and Peshawar where gemstones attested by Gemstone Identification Laboratory are traded. Due to the long and porous border with Afghanistan, many gemstones from the country are now also found in Pakistan and since 1979, Peshawar is the only direct market for all gems found both in Pakistan and Afghanistan. Peshawar became the hub of gemstones trade.

However, after the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, the gem market shift to Peshawar. The southern port city of Karachi was once the biggest market of facet and rough cut gems in Pakistan. Pakistan Gems and Mineral Show is held annually in Peshawar since 1994, however it has not attracted much attention from potential international buyers. Now a number of organizations are working in this sector including All Pakistan Commercial Exporters Association of Rough & Unpolished Precious and Semi Precious Stones (APCEA) and Pakistan Gems and Jewellery Development Company (PGJDC). In 1979, Gemstones Corporation of Pakistan was established to develop the gemstones sector in Pakistan, however in 1997 the corporation liquidated. Rare purple-lavender hued topaz on a matrix from Katlang in Mardan District, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Industry

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