Green gold.How much could a raw jewel be worth? To most people living in the poor emerald cities of Colombia's rugged Andes mountains Andes Mountains Mountain system, western South America. One of the great natural features of the globe, the Andes extend north-south about 5,500 mi (8,900 km). They run parallel to the Caribbean Sea coast in Venezuela before turning southwest and entering Colombia. , finding a one-carat crystal would mean a vastly improved lifestyle. Smuggling smuggling, illegal transport across state or national boundaries of goods or persons liable to customs or to prohibition. Smuggling has been carried on in nearly all nations and has occasionally been adopted as an instrument of national policy, as by Great Britain has become a big problem in mining towns like Muzo and Chivor--names used in the industry to describe the gem's different shades. Mine workers and unemployed campesinos scramble around the hillsides searching for the stones, which they quickly trade for thousands of U.S. dollars. It is precisely that desire to find a shiny green rock in a brown puddle of mud that drives the US$92 billion legal emerald economy in Colombia (the underground business is hard to measure). Already the world's largest and best producer, Colombia's gem industry has potential to grow. But guerrilla movements This is a list of notable guerrilla movements. It gives their English name, common acronym, and main country of operation. Latin America
In the meantime Adv. 1. in the meantime - during the intervening time; "meanwhile I will not think about the problem"; "meantime he was attentive to his other interests"; "in the meantime the police were notified" meantime, meanwhile , thin shards of leftover gems are scattered Scattered Used for listed equity securities. Unconcentrated buy or sell interest. up and down the mountainside--too small for mining companies to bother with but valuable nonetheless--and soiled hands keep digging for their tiny slice of Colombia's green gold. |
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