"Tensions at Colombia’s largest gold mine highlight climate justice quagmire", 26 June 2024

...On May 30, 2024, four communities in Buriticá, home to 10,000 residents in western Colombia, sent an SOS letter to public authorities, urging action against the increasing violence near the country’s largest gold mine. This mine is operated by Zijin Continental Gold, a subsidiary of the Chinese company Zijin Mining, which sued the Colombian government in November 2023 for not protecting it from attacks by local miners.

These local miners do traditional and small-scale mining in the region. They are called “ancestral” miners because they have lived and mined there for centuries before national and international corporations came. However, in the eyes of Zijin, they are illegal, or informal miners. The Colombian government sees them as both a community with valid claims to the land and a threat to Zijin's operations...

The regional body of ancestral miners initially signed a petition asking Zijin to grant them 140 hectares which they claim to have mined for over a decade. Traditional mining is essential for the livelihood of over 300 families and thousands of informal miners.

These miners who often work in deadly conditions in dozens of tunnels around Buriticá, some within Zijin’s concession, also urge the company to formalize their activities and stop labeling them as “illegal miners.” They are seeking to secure their rights to work safely in the mine...

In response, Zijin filed a lawsuit in November last year, indicating that it might consider withdrawing its operations from the town if the conflicts persist, a prospect local communities fear could exacerbate the situation. The case is currently under review by Colombia's Constitutional Court and could risk 4,200 jobs and USD 95.4 million in taxes and royalty payments...

Zijin says that it actively engages with miners as well as local communities through projects aiming at formalizing informal mining workers and promoting social development. Yet, consistent blockades and armed attacks have repeatedly disrupted the company’s operations as well as threatened the safety and stability of neighboring communities...