As conflict worsens in mining towns, the sector’s main union has called on the government to take action to promote new projects guarantee stability and energy transition, food sovereignty, achieve the objectives of the National Development Plan, promote the reindustrialization of regions and above all improve the living conditions of mining territories, concluded the 2023 National Mining Congress.
The event, which brought together more than 1,000 people on September 28 and 29 in Cartagena, highlighted the importance of mining in achieving total peace, as a vehicle for social development in the regions where it is present.
At the closing of the event, the president of the Colombian Mining Association (ACM), Juan Camilo Nariño Alcocer, highlighted that it is time for the public and private sectors to work together to advance geological knowledge, promote new projects and strengthen mining value chains. , with the aim of closing the gaps in the territories.
Will there be legal uncertainty?
According to Nariño, regulatory uncertainty and concerns about environmental decrees and widespread reliance on the precautionary principle persist in the sector.
“I am concerned by the idea and the approach according to which a mining title does not generate consolidated rights: a mining title is a legal question and generates obligations on the part of the State. I invite you to bring this matter before the ministry to generate certainty on these fundamental aspects,” he added.
On the other hand, he mentioned the importance of building a common notion of competitiveness. “State interest is necessary to make the sector competitive. We must ensure that coal mining, as well as gold and nickel mining, are competitive so that we can move these minerals to other markets. In this sense, revising the tax structure is essential.”
He also asked the Deputy Minister of Mines, Johanna Rocha, to involve the mining industry in the cross-cutting conversations taking place in the country today. “This sector will be a fundamental part of what we are looking for in Colombia,” he concluded.
