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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

For an emerald mine that Elon Musk continues to claim doesn’t exist, his father, Errol Musk, sure seems to know a lot about it. “Half of my colleagues were killed, all of my colleagues got malaria, ...

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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 ...

NPR ventures into a Colombian emerald mine — which used to be more dangerous, with potential explosions inside and gunfights outside. The CEO, a... Inside the emerald mines that make Colombia a global ...