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Colombia: Cinturon Esmeraldífero Chivor Emerald Mines

Chivor emeralds come from the Colombian "Emerald Belt" (Cinturon Esmeraldífero) in the Gobernación de Boyacá and Cundinamarca districts. The region is a sedimentary basin of the Cordillera Oriental mountain range at the base of the Andes mountains, famous for Colombian Chivor emeralds from the Matacana Mine and Chivor Mine.

The Chivor Mine was one of the first emerald mines to be exploited by the Spaniards in the 1500s, but emeralds were used by ancient Aztec, Inca, and Maya indigenous people long before.

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