"Conflicts, criminal gangs and lawsuits at Zijin’s Colombian gold mine" 1 November 2024

Tension is constant in Buriticá, the municipality in Antioquia department, north-western Colombia, where the Zijin mine is located. Buriticá made headlines in May after a violent blockade by informal miners on the main road through the municipality...           

Many informal miners in the area work under the Clan del Golfo, an armed criminal group which reportedly takes a 10% cut from their output in exchange for access to the tunnels it controls... Zijin reported having lost control of at least 60% of its mine shafts to the Clan since March 2023...

According to Teresa Mazo, the legal representative of the Colombian Agro-Mining and Environmental Association (Asominacol), the National Mining Agency (ANM), which regulates mining activity in the country, made 83 recommendations to Zijin on matters to improve the situation in the area, following allegations that the company had poured “toxic sludge” into the tunnels where informal miners were working. “So far, they have not told us if the corrective measures have been applied,” she added. A company statement in May rejected the accusation, decrying “rumours” and stating that it had been carrying out mandatory backfilling of tunnels as required by authorities, and that this process “strictly complies” with regulations...