As Colombia prepares the join the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, there is a vigorous national debate about the impact of exploiting the country's vast mineral wealth. People have been shocked to discover that some extractive companies, after tax exemptions, have paid nothing to the country...The national debate on extractive industries’ fiscal (and other) benefits to Colombia is forceful...The impacts, both positive and negative, of exploiting the country’s vast mineral wealth is the topic of daily, vigorous discussion...[W]hile Colombia’s independent EITI monitoring mechanism is being set up, such efforts are unlikely to impress observers weary of an opaque sector. [refers to BHP Billiton, Anglo American, Xstrata]