Editor’s Note
This article explores a quiet shift in Colombia’s perilous emerald mines, where women are now entering tunnels traditionally worked only by men. It highlights their challenging path in a high-stakes industry.
In the small mines around Coscuez, Colombia, miners wear rubber boots and helmets and carry drills. They enter single file and branch off into different tunnels. Today, some miners are females who have selected a difficult path in the often perilous emerald industry.
Colombian emeralds are known worldwide for quality and size. But emerald mining is hot, dangerous, and mostly considered men’s work in Colombia. Workers still use dynamite to open tunnels. But with few job opportunities, some women choose mining in hopes of striking it rich.
Despite the riches under their feet, most miners aren’t wealthy. Emerald merchants and large companies with high-tech machines make the highest profit. Still, rumors circulate that one miner recently found a $177,000 emerald and left ramshackle Coscuez forever.
Yaneth Forero works at a small mine near Coscuez. In three months, she’s found gems worth about $76 in total. Her earnings aren’t enough to maintain her family, so she works random jobs to make ends meet.
Mine work is tough—especially for women. After a day of drilling, they care for children and do household tasks that Colombian men often don’t do.
Women in mining was unthinkable a few decades ago in this South American country. Older villagers say men previously barred women from approaching the mines. They believed emeralds hid from women.
Currently, 200 women work the mines around Coscuez. Some labor alongside men; others work in small mines owned by women. The tunnels are so small that the women take turns working inside.
The women who are owners want the government to officially recognize them as artisanal, or small-scale, miners. That label would allow them to fully use the mines for profit—and receive other benefits like stability and access to financial loans.
Folks at small, unregulated mines likely won’t discover the emeralds that can change lives.
Forero doesn’t want to mine emeralds for long. She says if she finds a valuable gem, she’ll buy a house and set up a small business to keep her away from the hot, dark tunnels where she’s toiled for years.