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The first large-scale underground gold mine in Colombia was inaugurated this Friday by President Iván Duque in the municipality of Buriticá, in the department of Antioquia, a megaproject that will generate more than 3 billion pesos in taxes and royalties (more than 791.7 million dollars).
(Buriticá postpones the start of commercial gold production).
The operation of the mine, whose exploration will last 14 years, It will be key in the economic reactivation of the country, as it will increase the production of the metal in Colombia by at least 20%, according to the national government.
(We recommend: The sale of Continental Gold to Zijin is approved).
“Today we are in Colombia witnessing one of the most important investments in the world in gold mining. We are seeing a project whose purpose in a cycle of more than a decade is to contribute in an industry more than 3.7 million ounces of gold”, Duque said.
According to the president, the project will leave more than 3 billion pesos in royalties in the country that will be invested in the communities and will promote the development of Colombia.
“At the point where we are today, more than 3,700 people have been employed in this project and that also allow us to recognize that a process of community development and environmental harmony has been carried out”, stressed the president.
ABOUT THE WORK
The megaproject, which began to be built in 2017 by the multinational Continental Gold in the middle belt of the Cauca River and whose assets were acquired by the Chinese company Zijin Mining, received investments of more than 610 million dollars in its construction phase and will begin its commercial operations in December of this year.
In early March 2020, The Asian company announced that it had completed the purchase process of 100% of the shares of Continental Gold at a price of C $ 5.5 per share, thereby taking control of the mine.
“I am convinced that as long as Colombia continues to maintain this good and stable economic and business environment, more international investments will come in the future, including from China”, said the Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China, Lan Hu, in a message sent by the inauguration of the work.
SUSTAINABLE MINING
The president said that mining must be permanently transformed to ensure sustainability and advance in the protection of natural resources, as well as develop “in harmony with the preservation of water sources and also in knowing how to live with complex ecosystems”.
He specified in that sense that “Talking about mining cannot be a taboo” and that this activity must take into account the successful closure of projects, such as that of the Zipaquirá salt mine which, after a productive extraction cycle, “today has a beautiful Cathedral Salt open to tourism “.
The president also announced that his government signed a decree to formalize the activity of small miners in Colombia, which represent the vast majority of this activity in the country, so that “they have the opportunity, environmental and social standards.”
EFE
