Eastern Boyacá
Our group of 38 intrepid adventurers left Bogotá at the crack of dawn for the six-hour journey to the small town of Chivor in the eastern part of Boyacá Department. The first Spanish mine in this area dates to 1537. The beautiful green stones were, however, stained with the red blood of the Indian slaves who died by the thousands. When word got back to Pope Clement X about these atrocities, he convinced King Charles II to close the mine. Around 1675, it was sealed and soon lost, with the only clue to its existence the Spanish inscription: “The mines of Chivor are situated on the point of a ridge from which the Llanos (vast grassy plains) of the Orinoco can be seen.” Guided by this description, Pacho Restrepo crisscrossed the steep mountain terrain in eastern Boyacá in 1896, until he finally found the mine. Alas, unable to make it profitable, he was forced to sell.
The mine we visited—Manantial—is about 45 minutes from Chivor at the end of a bumpy dirt road. After suiting up in rubber boots, hardhat, headlamp, and gloves, we followed our guide into the main tunnel. Water draining through the mountains covered the floor, and during the 1.7-km (1-mi.) walk, we sloshed through several centimetres. Ventilation tubes ran along the ceiling of the narrow tunnel, but there were no lights. We preceded single-file in total darkness, with only our headlamps leading the way.
The shale walls were wet and powdery; merely touching them left thick black powder on our gloves. The tunnel followed veins of calcite, some containing quartz and pyrite. Stalactite-like formations hung from the ceiling, made of calcium salts deposited by the dripping water.
Finally, the tunnels diverge and one leads to an active face containing emeralds. The miners use hand picks to carefully remove the calcite from the wall without damaging the gems. The Chivor area produces emeralds bluish-green in colour compared to the deep-green stones found in Muzo.
