Word: mined
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...inability of the government to control the industry has much to do with the nature of emerald mining. In a typical operation, bulldozers cut huge swaths across a mountainside. Then the miners tunnel into the ground with hydraulic jacks and dynamite. After that, the operators run water over the area to clean away the debris. This process exposes emerald-bearing white calcite veins. Miners are able to pick out the larger crystals, but most of the smaller ones have been washed down to shallow riverbeds below the mine, % where swarms of guaqueros sift through the mud in search...
...guaqueros come away with enough emeralds to make life frustrating for the production companies. Says one mining executive: "If we get 30% of what the mine produces, that's good." Another mine operator tried to introduce new equipment that would have greatly increased his production capacity and limited the amount of emeralds washed into the riverbed. But he gave up the plan when he received anonymous threats, which he assumed were from guaquero clans. "You can cooperate with them, or you can fight them," he says. "I prefer to cooperate because I prefer to live...
Within the mine sites, companies go to extreme lengths to preserve their profits. Each miner is watched at all times by two technicians and an armed security guard. The emeralds are typically put into large leather or canvas bags, which are locked in a combination safe and held up to 24 hours until a helicopter from Bogota, about 60 miles to the south, can take away the jewels...
Despite such precautions, employee theft is common. Among the offenders are the uniformed security guards and soldiers that protect every mine. At night, they often change to civilian clothes and join the guaqueros for a little prospecting. That is yet another reason why Colombia has a thriving black market in the green gems...
Mount maintains his innocence: "The letters were mine and have been in my possession for 25 years," he told TIME. In fact, the Library of Congress has yet to determine the number of missing letters. If convicted of the charges against him, Mount could face up to ten years in prison. Before releasing him on $50,000 bail last week in Washington, U.S. Magistrate Jean Dwyer ordered the art historian to stay out of the National Archives, the Library of Congress and the National Gallery. "I have nothing else to do," Mount complained somewhat pathetically. Shot back Dwyer...