Editor’s Note
Gemfields, the world’s leading emerald producer, is making a high-stakes move into Colombia’s dangerous mining regions. This report examines the severe security challenges and local conflicts that could jeopardize the venture.
Gemfields, the world’s largest emerald producer, has decided to venture into Colombia’s bullet-ridden mafia strongholds in search of emerald mines. However, experts believe extraction will not be easy due to intense turf wars among local mafia groups and unstable security conditions.
On the 27th (local time), Bloomberg reported that Ian Harebottle, CEO of Gemfields, stated, “Colombia has outstanding emeralds,” and “if we find suitable assets (minerals), we will jump into mining.”
Colombia is the world’s third-largest emerald producer after Brazil and Zambia. Investment has been lacking, industrialization has been slow, production has declined, access has been difficult, and scarcity has increased. Annual production has plummeted from 9 million carats a decade ago to 2.6 million carats recently.
In the late 1980s, there were bloody conflicts over interests, such as “Blood Emeralds.” At that time, Gonzalo Rodríguez Gacha, a Medellín cocaine cartel boss, attempted to seize emerald mining areas by force from Victor Carranza, known as the “Emerald Czar,” leading to an incident where thousands died. Carranza survived this war and waged fierce battles with Marxist rebels and emerald rivals over the emerald mining industry until he died of cancer in April last year.
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Therefore, the Colombian government is striving to improve security and attract foreign investment into the mining sector controlled by mafias. Last November, President Juan Manuel Santos ordered an increase in military troops to strengthen security after Pedro Rincón, an emerald magnate in the Boyacá mining region (a six-hour drive from the capital Bogotá), was injured in a grenade attack.
Bloomberg pointed out that reliable local partners and security issues are key to expanding mining areas and extraction. For this reason, Gemfields continued its investment by acquiring the mining company Fabergé last year to enter the Zambian emerald mine, gaining a 75% stake in the world’s largest emerald mine located there.
Kieran Hodgson, an analyst at Charles Stanley Securities, emphasized the importance of government support, stating that Gemfields’ investment is justified considering the quality of Colombian emeralds.
Harebottle also stated,
Bloomberg reported that Iván Cepeda, a Colombian congressman and author of a book related to Carranza, argued that government control is still insufficient, while Deputy Mining Minister César Díaz emphasized that the perception of areas being inaccessible and controlled by mafias is mistaken.
