Muzo (Colombia) (AFP) – One man’s trash can very well become another man’s treasure in the Colombian town of Muzo, the emerald capital of the world. In this small community in the foothills of the eastern Andes mountains, multinational mining company Esmeralda Mining Services (EMS) deposits tons of earth it has processed from its operations into a cage-like enclosure. A few times a month, EMS allows hundreds of miners — known as “guaqueros” or treasure hunters — to search through the detritus and take home any precious stones they find.
