For those wondering about why Brazil claims to own the Emerald: in Brazil all minerals are literally property or government, to open a mine you need to lease th

For those wondering about why Brazil claims to own the Emerald: in Brazil all minerals are literally property or government, to open a mine you need to lease the land and jump through lots of hoops and red tape. If you just go, dig something up and try to sell, even if it was literally in your backyard, Brazilian government considers it theft of its property. EDIT: went looking for news on this... found out in 2017 they found another one in the same region, this time they did it legally (asked the govenrment to come and do all paperwork), and seemly the "second" Bahia Emerald has a legal owner. Also it is conveniently shaped like a obelisk or something, the owner said he plans in renting it to museums around the world... https://s04.video.glbimg.com/x720/5886155.jpg https://s04.video.glbimg.com/x720/5886155.jpg