Editing Emerald (section)

== Emerald mines ==
[[File:Trapiche emerald (cropped).jpg|thumb|A Colombian [[trapiche emerald]]]]
Emeralds in antiquity were mined in [[Ancient Egypt]] at locations on Mount Smaragdus since 1500 BC, and India and Austria since at least the 14th century AD.<ref>{{cite journal|doi=10.1126/science.287.5453.631|url=http://horizon.documentation.ird.fr/exl-doc/pleins_textes/pleins_textes_7/b_fdi_53-54/010020866.pdf|title=Oxygen Isotopes and Emerald Trade Routes Since Antiquity|journal=Science|year=2000|vauthors=Giuliani G, Chaussidon M, Schubnel HJ, Piat DH, Rollion-Bard C, France-Lanord C, Giard D, de Narvaez D, Rondeau B|pages=631–3|bibcode=2000Sci...287..631G|pmid=10649992|volume=287|issue=5453|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110807120139/http://horizon.documentation.ird.fr/exl-doc/pleins_textes/pleins_textes_7/b_fdi_53-54/010020866.pdf|archive-date=7 August 2011}}</ref> The Egyptian mines were exploited on an industrial scale by the Roman and Byzantine Empires, and later by Islamic conquerors. Mining in Egypt ceased with the discovery of the Colombian deposits. Today, only ruins remain in Egypt.<ref>"Romans organized the mines as a multinational business..." Finlay, Victoria. Jewels: A Secret History (Kindle Location 3098). Random House Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.</ref>

Colombia is by far the world's largest producer of emeralds, constituting 50–95% of the world production, with the number depending on the year, source and grade.<ref>{{cite news |last=Badawy |first=Manuela |title=Emeralds seek the 'De Beers' treatment |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-investment-emeralds-idUSBRE85C1P320120613 |date=13 June 2012 |work=Reuters |access-date=14 June 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120805121546/http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/06/13/us-investment-emeralds-idUSBRE85C1P320120613 |archive-date=5 August 2012  }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lPXoMqGQkZUC&pg=PA21 |page=21 |title=Colombia |author=Dydyński, Krzysztof |publisher=Lonely Planet |year=2003 |isbn=0-86442-674-7}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |author=Branquet, Y. Laumenier, B. Cheilletz, A. & Giuliani, G. | s2cid=55974313 | title=Emeralds in the Eastern Cordillera of Colombia. Two tectonic settings for one mineralization |journal=Geology |volume=27 |issue=7 |pages=597–600 |doi=10.1130/0091-7613(1999)027<0597:EITECO>2.3.CO;2 |year=1999 |bibcode = 1999Geo....27..597B |url=http://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/2d42/2152a59ac2b2d98dbed9dda5d1cdfddb9369.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190221022840/http://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/2d42/2152a59ac2b2d98dbed9dda5d1cdfddb9369.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=21 February 2019 }}</ref><ref>Carrillo, V. (2001). Compilación y análisis de la información geológica referente a la explotación esmeraldífera en Colombia. Informe de contrato 124. INGEOMINAS</ref> Emerald production in Colombia has increased drastically in the last decade, increasing by 78% from 2000 to 2010.<ref>{{cite web |last=Wacaster |first=Susan |title=2010 Minerals Yearbook: Colombia [ADVANCE RELEASE] |publisher=[[United States Geological Survey]] |date=March 2012 |url=http://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/country/2010/myb3-2010-co.pdf |access-date=7 August 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120813012215/http://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/country/2010/myb3-2010-co.pdf |archive-date=13 August 2012  }}</ref> The three main emerald mining areas in Colombia are [[Muzo]], Coscuez, and [[Chivor]].<ref>[http://www.emeralds.com/specimens/specimens/mining.html Emerald Mining Areas in Colombia] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100929185950/http://www.emeralds.com/specimens/specimens/mining.html |date=29 September 2010 }}, with location map of these three districts.</ref> Rare [[Trapiche emerald|"trapiche" emeralds]] are found in Colombia, distinguished by ray-like spokes of dark impurities.

[[Zambia]] is the world's second biggest producer, with its [[Kafubu River (Zambia)|Kafubu River]] area deposits (Kagem Mines) about {{convert|45|km|abbr=on}} southwest of Kitwe responsible for 20% of the world's production of gem-quality stones in 2004.<ref>Behling, Steve and Wilson, Wendell E. (1 January 2010) "[http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-219077097.html The Kagem emerald mine: Kafubu Area, Zambia]", ''The Mineralogical Record'' {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130510231830/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-219077097.html |date=10 May 2013 }}</ref> In the first half of 2011, the Kagem Mines produced 3.74 tons of emeralds.<ref>{{Cite web|title=What is Kagem Zambian Emerald?|url=http://www.sharongulezianjewelry.com/1/post/2016/01/-what-is-kagem-zambian-emerald.html|access-date=19 May 2021|website=Sharon Gulezian Jewelry|language=en}}</ref>

Emeralds are found all over the world in countries such as Afghanistan, Australia, Austria, Brazil,<ref>"[http://economia.uol.com.br/ultimas-noticias/redacao/2012/01/18/maior-esmeralda-do-mundo-encontrada-no-brasil-sera-leiloada-no-canada.jhtm Maior esmeralda do mundo, encontrada no Brasil, será leiloada no Canadá] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140407061534/http://economia.uol.com.br/ultimas-noticias/redacao/2012/01/18/maior-esmeralda-do-mundo-encontrada-no-brasil-sera-leiloada-no-canada.jhtm |date=April 7, 2014 }}". UOL (18 January 2012)</ref> Bulgaria, Cambodia, Canada, China, Egypt, Ethiopia, France, Germany, India, Kazakhstan, Madagascar, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Norway, Pakistan, Russia, Somalia, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, Tanzania, the United States, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.<ref name=Mindat>{{cite web |url=http://www.mindat.org/min-1375.html |title=Emerald at Mindat |publisher=Mindat.org |date=19 July 2010 |access-date=30 July 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100712200317/http://www.mindat.org/min-1375.html |archive-date=12 July 2010  }}</ref> In the US, emeralds have been found in [[Connecticut]], [[Montana]], [[Nevada]], [[North Carolina]], and [[South Carolina]].<ref name=Mindat /> In 1998, emeralds were discovered in the Yukon Territory of Canada.<ref>[http://www.geology.gov.yk.ca/pdf/emeralds.pdf Emeralds in the Yukon Territory] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140331003634/http://www.geology.gov.yk.ca/pdf/emeralds.pdf |date=31 March 2014 }}. Yukon Geological Survey.</ref>

=== Origin determinations ===
Since the onset of concerns regarding diamond origins, research has been conducted to determine if the mining location could be determined for an emerald already in circulation. Traditional research used qualitative guidelines such as an emerald's color, style and quality of cutting, type of fracture filling, and the anthropological origins of the artifacts bearing the mineral to determine the emerald's mine location. More recent studies using [[energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy]] methods have uncovered trace chemical element differences between emeralds, including ones mined in close proximity to one another.  American gemologist David Cronin and his colleagues have extensively examined the chemical signatures of emeralds resulting from fluid dynamics and subtle precipitation mechanisms, and their research demonstrated the chemical homogeneity of emeralds from the same mining location and the statistical differences that exist between emeralds from different mining locations, including those between the three locations: Muzo, Coscuez, and Chivor, in Colombia, South America.<ref>{{Cite journal |url=http://www.gem-a.com/publications/journal-of-gemmology/issues-2008-to-date/cronin-2012.aspx |title=Determining the geographical origins of natural emeralds through nondestructive chemical fingerprinting |last1=Cronin |first1=David |date=2012 |journal=Journal of Gemmology |last2=Rendle |first2=Andy |pages=1–13 |volume=33 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151117015242/http://www.gem-a.com/publications/journal-of-gemmology/issues-2008-to-date/cronin-2012.aspx |archive-date=17 November 2015  |doi=10.15506/JoG.2012.33.1.1 }}</ref>