"Colombian president reiterates negative to allowing gold mining in the Andes mountains", 04 February 2023

...During a meeting with páramo communities in the north-central Santander department, Colombian President Gustavo Petro reiterated his negative to allowing large-scale gold mining in the Páramo de Santurbán, a protected area of the Andes mountains.

Petro’s words alluded to the Soto Norte project presented by the Sociedad Minera de Santander (Minesa), a company owned by the government of Abu Dhabi through its investment arm Mubadala Investment Company. The proposal was shelved in 2020 by Colombia’s National Authority of Environmental Licences (ANLA in Spanish), under the argument that there were too many unanswered questions in Soto Norte’s environmental impact assessment and follow-up documentation submitted by Minesa.

One of the main issues with the EIA was related to the possibility that the gigantic tunnels needed for the mine could affect the quality and amount of water flowing from the páramo to the city of Bucaramanga’s metropolitan aqueduct, which supplies fresh water to about 2 million people. 

The town hall with the páramo communities took place following a January blockade carried out by Santander’s farmers and small business owners, who were protesting the possibility of displacement due to the new boundaries proposed by the legislative power in the Santurbán area when the $1.2 billion Soto Norte project was first presented...