In 2017 the emeralds will be one of the protagonists in the country's mining production. In addition to formalization in their extraction, large multinationals will invest substantial capital for the industrialization of their processes.

With the arrival in the country of the multinational Gemfields Group Company practically the exploitation of emeralds in the country leaves the informality, the former Minister of Mines and Energy, Tomás González, at the time indicated. Gemfields, considered the largest producer of colored gemstones in the world, enters the national territory with a 70% participation in partnership with Colombian miner Esmeracol S.A. To give rise to the company Coscuez NewCo.

"Proposed acquisitions in Colombia will require more work and additional exploration before significant production starts and are an exciting opportunity for the global growth of the company," said Ian Harebottle, CEO of Gemfields. One of the Emerald complexes that Gemfields will operate is located in Coscuez, in an area covering a 47 hectare area, which has been in operation for about 25 years.

For its part, Charles Burgess, president of Mining Texas Colombia SA, owner of the concession of the richest emerald mine in the world, Muzo, said that in 2015 they made an inventory for 2016, the year in which they marketed about US $ 50 million. Burgess said at the time that Colombia is the country that currently has the best emeralds in the world, it is time for it to be as iconic and as desired in international markets as coffee.

The production of emeralds in Colombia is concentrated in the so-called belts of Oriente in Boyacá and of the West in the region of Chivor where there are stones of 40, 50 and up to 200 carats.

According to data from the National Mining Agency, between January and September of 2016 the country exported just over 279,000 carats of emeralds, representing more than US $ 107 million in sales in international markets. Multinationals will invest large sums for the industrialization of their processes.

Likewise, the emeralds took the side by Colombia in the indices of exportation of precious metals to grow in an average of 10%. Colombia's main export markets are 60% for the United States and 40% for Asia, where they are distributed to India, Hong Kong and Thailand. According to Fedesmeraldas, Colombia possesses the finest emeralds in the world and in those countries of Asia prefers the Colombian emerald, since the color green is for them of good luck. It is estimated that less than 5 percent of the production of emeralds remains in Colombia and 95 percent is marketed abroad.

For the president of Fedesmeraldas, Óscar Baquero, the sector requires many resources from abroad, due to the high risk of exploring more areas with potential. Emphasize that to carry out this mission they need companies with good financial muscle.