Colombia pro-mining referendum will not soothe global miners https://finance.yahoo.com/news/colombia-pro-mining-referendum-not-150353837.html
Vetas municipality will soon hold Colombia's first-ever, and so far only, local vote aimed at enshrining the right to mine, in sharp contrast to a wave of environmentally focused anti-mining referendums over the past year that spooked investors and forced a major gold project to close.
The pro-mining referendum in Vetas may prompt more elsewhere. But pro-mining votes seem set to benefit local companies and mining in streams and on mountainsides, not multinationals including Continental Gold, EcoOro , Red Eagle and AngloGold Ashanti, which pulled out of a $360 million investment in Cajamarca after an anti-mining vote last year.
Miners have called for clarity on whether the referendums, be they pro or anti-mining, are binding. But the government has failed to legislate the issue, which is dampening foreign investment at a time when Colombia is grappling with low growth.
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In California municipality some still make their living panning for gold. Officials said the community has a fraught relationship with Minesa, the latest multinational to start a project there, pledging to directly employ 1,000 people.