Job scarcity and the hope of striking it rich are driving women to pursue mining despite the grueling conditions. Colombian emeralds are highly valued globally, with the potential for significant ...

Rocks retrieved from a mine in Muzo, Colombia, show some of what makes the country the biggest producer of high-value emeralds. (Carlos Saavedra for NPR) MUZO, Colombia — Although he has helped ...

COSCUEZ, Colombia - Deep inside the lush and remote mountainous ranges of Colombia’s Boyacá region, the women disappear into dark tunnels, wreathed in shades of red and brown, sifting through nature’s ...

One man's trash can very well become another man's treasure in the Colombian town of Muzo, the emerald capital of the world. In this small community in the foothills of the eastern Andes mountains, ...

MUZO, Colombia — Although he has helped transform Colombia's emerald industry, long a source of violence and environmental damage, former U.S. diplomat Charles Burgess admits that he got into the ...

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