Colombia bill aims to combat illegal mining

A Colombian congressional panel approved a bill to clamp down on illegal mining, which is believed to generate more revenue than drug trafficking.

The initiative proposes tougher sentences for illegal miners of gold, coal and other minerals now believed to be operating in 25 of Colombia's 32 departments, said Santiago Urdinola, head of Colombian mining association ACM.

The bill also seeks to crack down on money laundering associated with the sector, which allegedly finances insurgencies, and will give environmental agencies greater powers to control the sale of materials such as mercury and cyanide.

Colombia's illegal miners generated an estimated 7tn pesos (US$2.3bn) in revenue last year, according to the defense ministry.

"Antioquia, Cauca, Chocó, Nariño and the southern part of Bolívar department suffer the greatest environmental and social effects, as well as the involvement of organized crime," according to Bogota newspaper El Espectador.

Small-scale mining organizations such as Antioquia's Emijom oppose the proposed legislation as they claim miners lack the tools to formalize their operations, according to the paper. The bill will help efforts to formalize an estimated 120,000 informal miners, according to the government.

"The government wants formal mining to be a growth engine and create jobs," deputy defense minister Aníbal Fernández told El Espectador. "This is why the legislation will pursue criminals and provide better tools for mining formalization."

President Juan Manuel Santos, along with the leaders of Peru, Ecuador and Bolivia, is seeking to halt money laundering, deforestation and pollution of the Amazon jungle by formalizing informal miners.

The government has identified 7,000 mining operations, which account for 70% of the operations in the country, according to the energy and mines ministry. A 10-day protest by illegal miners halted operations at Gran Colombia Gold last year.

Colombia's total gold output rose 4.5% to 1.99Moz last year from 1.90Moz in 2015, according to the government's mining agency ANM. The country is Latin America's largest coal producer.