0,000
17th " 34,600,000
18th " 41,000,000
19th " 41,600,000

According to his computations the eight Colombian departments,
omitting Panama, had produced during this period in gold and silver:--

Antioquia L50,000,000
Cauca 49,800,000
Tolima 10,800,000
Santander 3,000,000
Bolivar 1,400,000
Cundinamarca 360,000
Magdalena 200,000
Boyaca 40,000
------------
L115,600,000

Three-fourths of the gold production, he estimates, was derived from
alluvial deposits. Large as these aggregates are, it will be seen that
the annual production was comparatively small, the highest average,
that for the 19th century, being less than L500,000 a year. Toward the
end of the 19th century, after a decline in production due to the
abolition of slavery and to civil wars, increased interest was shown
abroad in Colombian mining operations. Medellin, the capital of
Antioquia, is provided with an electrolytic refining establishment,
several assaying laboratories, and a mint. The department of Cauca is
considered to be the richest of the republic in mineral deposits, but
it is less conveniently situated for carrying on mining operations.
Besides this, the extreme unhealthiness of its most productive
regions, the Choco and Barbacoas districts on the Pacific slope, has
been a serious obstacle to foreign enterprise. Tolima is also
considered to be rich in gold and (especially) silver deposits. East
of the Magdalena the production of these two metals has been
comparatively small. In compensation the famous emerald mines of Muzo
and Coscuez are situated in an extremely mountainous region north of
Bogota and near the town of Chiquinaquira, in the department of
Boyaca. The gems are found in a matrix of black slate in what appears
to be the crater of a volcano, and are mined in a very crude manner.
The mines are owned by the government. The revenue was estimated at
L96,000 for 1904. Platinum is said to have been discovered in Colombia
in 1720, and has been exported regularly since the last years of the
18th century. It is found in many parts of the country, but chiefly in
the Choco and Barbacoas districts, the annual export from the former
being about 10,000 in value. Of the bulkier