[Translated by Business & Human Rights Resource Centre]

"Zijin resumes production at Colombia gold mine after blockades" - 23 August 2022

... Zijin Mining began resuming gold production at its Colombian mine after road blockades around the site forced it to halt activities for more than a week, a spokesman for the Chinese company said on Monday.... The mine, one of the most important in gold production in Colombia, is located in the municipality of Buriticá, in Antioquia department, where community members blocked roads to demand a rescue mission to search for informal miners allegedly trapped and killed in a tunnel.... Despite several rescue missions, no bodies were found in the tunnels adjacent to Zijin's mine, but the mayor of Buriticá said two miners are believed to have died...Thousands of miners work in sometimes deadly conditions in dozens of informal tunnels in Buriticá, including many within Zijin's concession or near this mine.... These activities, controlled by the Clan del Golfo criminal gang, are a security problem for the community and affect the Chinese miner's production, a Reuters investigation showed last year....