Colombia's government plans to begin the debate of reforms to the mining law in congress in the first half of this year.
The reforms include the aim of creating a state mining company and helping to support small and artisanal mining.
“We are in discussion, in prior consultation with Afro and indigenous peoples about the mining law, on which debate will begin in congress this semester,” mines and energy minister Andrs Camacho said during a visit to Barbacoas in Nario department.
Camacho asked the public for support in the debate on the creation of the state mining company Ecominerales, which he said would allow the State to partner with small and ancestral miners to make the most of the country's wealth of mineral resources.
The minister also announced that, on January 26, an agreement will be signed with the government of Nario at a public mining assembly in Tumaco to create an environmentally sustainable mining district.
Gustavo Petro's government plans to allocate more than 10bn pesos (US$2.5mn) to create these districts in association with small miners.
Last year, lvaro Pardo, head of mining agency ANM, said that Ecominerales would participate in the exploration and exploitation of strategic minerals, as well as in their commercialization, starting with gold.
According to official plans, Ecominerales would buy gold for export or to create a clean jewelry chain in Colombia. Selling the gold to the central bank is also not ruled out.
Local analysts believe that the proposed reforms to the mining law are one of the biggest challenges that the sector will have to face this year because, if they are approved, it will mean the State taking on a greater role in the industry and the establishment of tighter environmental requirements, which could lengthen permitting process, which are already cumbersome...