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Emeralds are green and sometime green with a blueish-tint precious gemstones that are mined in various geological settings. They are minerals in theberyl group ofsilicates. For more than 4,000 years, emeralds have been among the most valuable of all jewels.Colombia, located in northern South America, is the country that mines and produces the most emeralds for the global market, as well as the most desirable. It is estimated that Colombia accounts for 70–90% of the world's emerald market.[1] While commercial grade emeralds are quite plentiful, fine and extra fine quality emeralds are extremely rare. Colombian emeralds over 50carat can cost much more than diamonds of the same size.[citation needed]
The Colombiandepartments ofBoyacá andCundinamarca, both in theEastern Ranges of the ColombianAndes, are the locations where most of the emerald mining takes place.[2]
Although the Colombian emerald trade has a rich history that dates as far back as thepre-Columbian era, the increase in worldwide demand for the industry of the gemstones in the early 20th century has led prices for emeralds to nearly double on the global market. Until 2016, the Colombian emerald trade was at the center ofColombia's civil conflict, which has plagued the country since the 1950s.[3]
For thousands of years, emeralds have been mined and considered one of the world's most valuable jewels. The first ever recorded emeralds date back to ancient Egypt, where they were particularly admired by Queen Cleopatra. In addition to their aesthetic value, emeralds were highly valued in ancient times because they were believed to increase intelligence, protect marriages, ease childbirth, and thought to enable its possessor the power of predicting future events.[1]
An ancient Colombian legend exists of two immortal human beings, a man and a woman—named Fura and Tena—created by the Muisca god Are in order to populate the earth. The only stipulation by Are was that these two human beings had to remain faithful to each other in order to retain their eternal youth. Fura, the woman, however, did not remain faithful. As a consequence, their immortality was taken away from them. Both soon aged rapidly, and they eventually died. Are later took pity on the unfortunate beings and turned them into two crags protected from storms and serpents and in whose depths Fura's tears became emeralds. Today, theFura and Tena peaks, rising approximately 840 and 500 meters, respectively, above the valley of theMinero River, are the official guardians of Colombia's emerald zone. They are located roughly 30 km north of the mines of Muzo, the location of the largest emerald mines in Colombia.[2]
Historians believe the indigenous people of Colombia mastered the art of mining as early as 500 AD. But SpanishConquistadors are the ones who are credited with discovering and marketing globally what we now call Colombian emeralds. Colombia, during pre-colonial times, was occupied byMuzo indigenous people, who were overpowered bySpain in the mid-1500s.[4] It took Spain five decades to overpower the tribal Muzo people who occupied this entire mining area. Once in control, the Spanish forced this native, indigenous population to work the mining fields that it previously held for many centuries.
Monarchs and the gem-loving royalty in India, Turkey, and Persia eventually sought the New World treasures once the gems arrived in Europe. These new emerald owners expanded their private collections with spectacular artifacts bedazzled with emeralds between 1600 and 1820, the time frame of Spain's control over the Colombian mines. After Colombia's independence from Spain in 1819, the new government and other private mining companies assumed mining operations. Over the course of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, these mines were periodically shut down numerous times because of political situations within the country.[5]
The western emerald belt of Colombia stretches across northwesternCundinamarca and southwesternBoyacá to the extreme south ofSantander, fromLa Palma andTopaipí in the southwest toLa Belleza andFlorián in the northeast.[6] The main municipalities of the western belt are:
The emeralds occur mainly in hydrothermal mineralizations in theRosablanca,Paja,Muzo andFuratena Formations,[7][8] the latter named after the mythicalcacicaFuratena. Furatena was the owner of the finest emeralds of the Muzo territories before theSpanish conquest.[9]
Major mines of this area are:[10]
Small airports serving the western belt areFuratena Airport andMuzo Airport.
The eastern belt of the emerald region of the Eastern Ranges is located in the east of Cundinamarca and southeast of Boyacá, at around 110 kilometres (68 mi) distance from the western belt.[8] Main areas are:[11]
The emeralds occur mostly in theMacanal,Las Juntas andGuavio Formations.[8][11]
Major mines are:[10]
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Colombian emeralds are found primarily insedimentaryCretaceous blackshales.Fault-driven fluidization andbrecciation of host rock within theColombian Cordillera duringorogeny led to the transport ofhydrothermal fluids and subsequent precipitation ofberyl and other minerals within the black shales. These fluids have been described as “basinal brines”[12] and interacted chemically with organic material in the host shales, resulting in the precipitation of minerals such ascalcite,dolomite,muscovite,pyrite,quartz,albite, and beryl.[12] Emeralds are a variety of the mineral beryl that owe their color to trace amounts of chromium and vanadium. The source of these trace elements in the case of Colombian Emeralds is believed to be from interaction of the parent hydrothermal fluid and the black shale host rock.[citation needed]
Colombian emeralds are much sought after, and not just because of their superb quality and color. A gem's value depends upon its size, purity, color and brilliance. Even when they are mined in the same area, each individual emerald has its own unique look that sets it apart from the rest. Dark green is considered to be the most beautiful, scarce, and valuable color for emeralds. An emerald of this color is considered rare and is only found in the deepest mines of Colombia.[4]
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The eastern portion of the Andes, between theBoyacá andCundinamarca departments, is where most Colombian emeralds are mined. The three major mines in Colombia areMuzo,Coscuez, andChivor. Muzo and Coscuez are on long-term leases from the government to two Colombian companies, while Chivor is a privately owned mine. Muzo remains the most important emerald mine in the world to this date.[4]
The terms Muzo and Chivor do not always refer to the particular mines that carry the same name. Instead, the two terms, originating from the local indigenous language, often describe the quality and color of emeralds. Muzo refers to a warm, grassy-green emerald, with hints of yellow. Chivor, on the other hand, describes a deeper green color.[13]
There are also many other smaller emerald mines in Colombia which produce emeralds of all different grades, but these emeralds are usually of lower quality than the ones extracted from any of the three major mining areas.
Colombia has dealt with a civil war starting from the mid-1950s that is still taking place in the country today. This sixty-year conflict between left-wingguerrilla groups, right-wingparamilitary groups,Colombian drug cartels, and the government, has displaced millions and has killed thousands of people. The emerald trade is at the center of funding this ongoing civil conflict in Colombia. Emeralds have helped fund many of the armed non-state actors (NSAs) involved in the Colombian internal conflict through means of emerald smuggling and the selling of these precious stones on the international black market.[14] The international demand for emeralds is currently at an all-time high, which secures the continued funneling of millions of dollars annually to illicit organizations in Colombia that acquire and sell emeralds on illegal premise in order to fund their existences.[15]
Because of their value on the international market, Colombian emeralds create a large illicit trade. Emerald smugglers, called guaqueros, poach on the mines, particularly along theItoco River in the Muzo valley. During the day they scour the river beds and scavenge the mining fields for overlooked emeralds in private mines. By night, these smugglers try to rob safe houses that store the rough emeralds before they are able to be transported to safer areas. Guaqueros often compete with other guaqueros for the same loots, most of which return a large profit on the black market. Thisillegal mining activity is monitored by the National Police, but arrests are infrequent and jail sentences are usually short.[16]
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