>>Is there any word as to when gems will be added into the mix of mining? Is the current plan only to allow them to be used for embellishment, or would they be compatible with gem pouches?

I can tell you that the current metals found through the critter system are incompatible, made me very sad when I found that since I had gotten something like 10 boxes in a row with gold or silver nuggets in them only to find out that they couldn't be used.
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As good almost kill a man as kill a good book; who kills a man kills a reasonable creature, God's image; but he who destroys a good book, kills reason itself, kills the image of God, as it were in the eye.
-John Milton