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Fiebre Verde · Joined: 11 Sep 2013 Posts: 944 Location: Paris Area

Here are a few snapshots of a recent trip (last week) I made with a couple of friends in the Eastern Emerald Belt of Colombia.

We set off from Bogota well before dawn and headed first to the Gachalá emerald district.
We had our first rockhounding stop just a few km away from the famous (and now abandoned) open pit mine of La Vega de San Juan where was found the famous "Gachalá emerald" in 1967, a 858 carats crystal (5x5x5cm) which is now on display in the Smithsonian Institution, in Washington D.C.
We were hosted by a mine company called "La Emilia" which was named after another famous emerald specimen of 7,025 cts discovered in 1969 in the Las Cruces mine.
We had a tour of the various mining sites but the only emeralds we saw were actually the ones sold by some miners.
The next day we headed up north to the Chivor district. This was Saturday and the mines were not in operation. This did not stop us doing some rockhounding by taking an unofficial tunnel used by the "guaqueros" (unofficial or independent miners). I know, all this sounds completely illegal, but actually it is ok as long as the mining company operating in the area is made aware of our presence. Here too, we were not very successful in our attempts to find some beryl, even not crystallized.
Last day was spend partly in the village of Chivor where we saw many specimens and crystals on sale (it was market day).
On our way back to Bogota, we had a stopover in the town of Guateque where we also saw some very nice calcite and pyrite specimens... in a grocery store!

Enjoy the trip!

Gérard

Fiebre Verde · Joined: 11 Sep 2013 Posts: 944 Location: Paris Area

The trip is not over...

Fiebre Verde · Joined: 11 Sep 2013 Posts: 944 Location: Paris Area

Last look before leaving Chivor.

Philippe Durand · Joined: 10 May 2016 Posts: 653 Location: Normandie

Thank you for sharing this nice trip.
By the way, did you feel unsecure? The area is known to be one of the new western.

Tobi

chris

Bonjour Gérard,

Thanks for showing us this area full of green no matter where you go.

Christophe

Fiebre Verde · Joined: 11 Sep 2013 Posts: 944 Location: Paris Area

Philippe, Tobi, Christophe, thanks for your appreciations!

Indeed the Eastern belt is very green but the Western belt (e.g. the Muzo area) which is at a lower altitude (1,000 meters less) is even more lush.
You get instantly soaked when visiting a mine in the Muzo area - this takes a bit longer in the Chivor district depending of the height of the tunnel.

Note there is an English version of the Lapis issue mentioned by Tobi (Emeralds of the World, 2002) but unfortunately it is out of print. It is sold at an insane price by some internet vendors - you're better off buying some specimens instead...
The Jan/Feb 2016 issue of the Mineralogical Record on Colombian emeralds is an excellent and cheaper alternative (although it's focused on Colombia unlike the Lapis issue).

Is Colombia more dangerous than other places? Are the Colombian emerald mines more insecure than the ones in Brazil, Zambia or Afghanistan? There is not an easy answer for that.
For sure ultra-violence was present in all aspects of life in the 80's and 90's but the situation started to slowly improve after the last emerald war ended in the early 90's.
On the political side, peace talks are under way and a formal agreement is expected to be reached pretty soon between the Colombian government and the guerilla.

Yes, planning a visit to the mines does require on-the-ground knowledge and logistics. This can be arranged through a good and reliable contact person.
Some local operators have started organizing mining tours. I don't know what level of service they offer but that could be a good starting point for the newcomers in Colombia.

Gérard