Colombia’s capital Bogota awarded for failing crime policy
OAS urges Colombia to release people arrested over...
Colombia’s war crimes tribunal hears notorious former warlord
Colombia’s GDP and GNI
Panama arrests US citizen suspected in Colombia of...
Colombia seeking mastermind behind Paraguay prosecutor kill plot
Colombia’s government and ELN rebels overcome “crisis” in...
Bogota
Crime and security in Bogota
Colombia recalls ambassador from Guatemala over corruption probe...
  • About
  • Support
  • Newsletter
  • Contact
Colombia News | Colombia Reports
  • News
    • General
    • Analysis
    • War and peace
    • Elections
    • Economy
    • Culture
    • Sports
    • Science and Tech
  • Travel
    • General
    • Bogota
    • Medellin
    • Cali
    • Cartagena
    • Antioquia
    • Caribbean
    • Pacific
    • Coffee region
    • Amazon
    • Southwest Colombia
    • Northeast Colombia
    • Central Colombia
  • Data
    • Economy
    • Crime and security
    • War and peace
    • Development
    • Cities
    • Regions
    • Provinces
  • Profiles
    • Organized crime
    • Politics
    • Armed conflict
    • Economy
    • Sports
  • Lite
  • Opinion
(Image: Environment Ministry)
News

Colombia bans mercury in gold mining

by Adriaan Alsema July 16, 2018

Colombia’s government announced Monday that it has prohibited the use of mercury in gold mining.

The highly poisonous chemical will also gradually be phased out in other industries until a full ban on the industrial use in 2023, the Environment Ministry said on its website.

Mercury is primarily used in the largely unregulated gold mining industry and is blamed for extreme pollution in areas where gold is abundant.


Colombia urges international regulation to curb ‘blood gold’: report


According to Environment Minister Luis Gilberto Murillo, “miners with a mining title and environmental authorization must continue their activities without the use of mercury.”

From this moment on, the prohibition of the use of mercury in mining in Colombia becomes effective, in accordance with the provisions of Law 1658 of 2013, with which the National Government assumed the challenge of making the transition to the elimination of this element in gold mining in five years, that is, between 2013 and 2018.

Ministries of Mining and Environment

Colombia’s legal mining industry uses approximately 95 metric tons of the chemical per year, according to newspaper El Espectador.

Whether it will end the use of the highly toxic chemical in mining is hardly probable; 80% of the gold mining operations in Colombia is carried out without any license.

Many of these informal or illegal operations are controlled by illegal armed groups that either employ or extort miners.

According to statistics website Statista, Colombia produced 1.32 million troy ounces of gold last year.

environmentgoldgold miningmining

Trending

  • Colombia’s government and ELN rebels overcome “crisis” in peace talks

  • Colombia seeking mastermind behind Paraguay prosecutor kill plot

For patrons

Downloads for patrons

Related articles

  • The threats to Colombia’s biodiversity

  • Colombia lost more than 12,000 square miles of forest in past 20 years

  • Colombia suspends ‘most important project of this century’

  • Twitter
  • Email
  • Rss

@2008-2019 - Colombia Reports. All Rights Reserved.
Powered by Digitale Zaken and Parrolabs


Back To Top
Colombia News | Colombia Reports
  • News
    • General
    • Analysis
    • War and peace
    • Elections
    • Economy
    • Culture
    • Sports
    • Science and Tech
  • Travel
    • General
    • Bogota
    • Medellin
    • Cali
    • Cartagena
    • Antioquia
    • Caribbean
    • Pacific
    • Coffee region
    • Amazon
    • Southwest Colombia
    • Northeast Colombia
    • Central Colombia
  • Data
    • Economy
    • Crime and security
    • War and peace
    • Development
    • Cities
    • Regions
    • Provinces
  • Profiles
    • Organized crime
    • Politics
    • Armed conflict
    • Economy
    • Sports
  • Lite
  • Opinion