Illegal mining seen costing Colombia over US$68mn a year

The Colombian government is failing to receive 200bn pesos (US$67.8mn) a year in income tax due to the existence of illegal mining outfits operating across more than 300 municipalities, according to the local mining association ACM.

The figure does not include other taxes that legal mining pays to local authorities and the national government, ACM said in a statement.

A number of mining companies operating legally in the country and their employees have received threats from criminal gangs and leftist guerrilla groups which usually control the illegal operations, according to ACM.

ACM president Santiago Ángel Urdinola called on the government to step up efforts to address the issue in a more integral way, particularly if the peace negotiations with leftist guerrilla group the FARC come to fruition.

The Colombian government has taken steps to formalize illegal mining activities. Last year some 1,405 illegal operations were in the process of being formalized, out of the more than 7,300 identified in the 11 departments being prioritized by the government, the mining ministry has said.

Additionally, the government is in the process of eliminating the use of mercury, used heavily in illegal gold mining, and last year it shut down 30 plants that were using the substance.

The governments of Colombia, Bolivia, Brazil, Ecuador, Guyana, Suriname, Venezuela and Peru have pooled efforts to fight illegal mining in the region via the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization (ACTO).

EXPORTS

ACM said that during the first quarter, the country's coal production was down 7.9% to 19.7Mt. Nickel output was down 7.5% to 9,800t, while gold rose 19.8% to 62,300oz.

ACM, citing figures from national statistics department Dane, said that mineral exports fell 32.1% year-on-year in the first quarter, driven by a drop in coal and ferronickel exports, which were down 36.1% and 54.2%, respectively.

Gold and emerald exports, on the other hand, saw increases of 20% and 48% to US$221mn and US$37mn, respectively.