After seven years of the country's mining sector not being on the Executive's priority agenda, this industry comes to the top of the Government's tasks.
(By 2020, Colombia will double its gold production: ANM).
And precisely, the main and only mission to be carried out by the new president of the National Mining Agency (ANM), Juan Miguel Durn, is to put the accelerator to the bottom so that the sector becomes a key piece and pillar of economic revival and Social.
(New regulation to increase mining investment in social programs).
“It is an activity that has an opportunity in these two years. We must give full viability and support to large-scale mining, which is state-of-the-art and meets all environmental standards. The task is to carry out the main mining projects in the country, "said the Minister of Mines and Energy, Diego Mesa.
And to carry out the mission dictated by the head of the energy mining portfolio, in the two remaining years of the current mandate, Durn has four challenges ahead that he must carry out: empower the mining sector in the context of covid-19, within the economic revival; encourage investment in so-called new strategic minerals; finish the digitization and systematization process in the ANM; and to generate a culture of territorial and social relationship with the communities where the projects are carried out.
This, with a frontal war against the illegal extraction of minerals that is not sustainable, and with diversification of the matrix so as not to depend on mining production only on coal.
"The country must bet on the development and exploitation of new minerals such as copper, gold, black sands and phosphates that are fundamental for economic reactivation," said Milton Montoya, director of the Department of Mining and Energy Law at the Externado University.
The analyst stressed that the sector should be potentiated in the context of covid-19, within the social recovery and the promotion of extractive tasks in the territories as a key actor for rehabilitation.
For his part,Juan Camilo Nario, president of the Colombian Mining Association (ACM) stressed that in the next two years it is necessary to perfect the implementation of the different modules of ANNA Mining, speed up the time to respond to mining procedures and make reality differential policy for mining exploration and Colombian coal.
In addition to the three challenges that Durn must face as president of the ANM, there are four strategic and priority large-scale mining projects, to which he must pay special attention to their development and which must be in the industrial production phase in August 2022: they are the gold complexes of Buritic, San Ramn, Gramalote and Soto Norte, as well as the Quebradona copper mine.
And although the mining matrix will be sought to distance itself from the production of coal, this mineral will continue to be important in the extractive agenda, for which reason the coal producers ask that they continue to be the priority in the sector.
"This industry is of great value for national finances and of utmost importance for regional economies, taking into account that more than 80 municipalities in the country derive their economy from coal activity. Without a doubt, mining will boost other industries and will be an ally in the recovery of local economies ” , Juan Manuel Snchez, President of Fenalcarbn.
Finally, another of the fronts that Durn must not take his eye off has to do with mining formalization programs.
“There are 110,000 subsistence miners in the country who will be accompanied with technical assistance to ensure they have the tools so they can work in a formal way. Also, take them to bankarization. The task will be done in synchronization of the Mining Secretaries in the departments, " said Minister Mesa.
Alfonso Lpez Surez
https://www.portafolio.co/economia/cobre-oro-y-carbon-retos-de-la-agencia-de-mineria-542861