Universitas Scientiarum

Univ. Sci. 2013, Vol. 18 (1): 33-49

www.MDYHULDQDHGXFR/scientiarumweb www.javeriana.edu.co/scientiarum/ojs
6,&,0$*0,&$)6!76' doi: 10.11144/Javeriana.SC18-1mgmc ORIGINAL PAPER

Mercury and gold mining in Colombia: a failed state

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5HFHLYHG$FFHSWHG3XEOLVKHGRQOLQH Edited by Alberto Acosta m

Abstract. ,GHQWLI\LQJDQGDQDO\]LQJWKHFDXVHVDQG Colombia minera y uso de mercurio: un estado fallido.

consequences that generate the high consumption of Resumen. ,GHQWLÀFDU\DQDOL]DUODVFDXVDV\FRQVHFXHQFLDV
que están generando altos niveles de consumo de mercurio
mercury in gold mining activities is an international HQODDFWLYLGDGDXUtIHUDHVXQDSULRULGDGLQWHUQDFLRQDO&RQ
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country’s gold mines have no mining title and only \GHOXVRH[FHVLYRGHPHUFXULRHQ&RORPELDVHXVDURQVHLV
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evidenced the miners’ partiality in favor of the use of SRUXQDSROtWLFDGHSHUVHFXFLyQDODDFWLYLGDGHQOXJDUGH
mercury in the procurement of gold; the process is IRPHQWDUVXIRUPDOL]DFLyQ
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government has opted for a policy of persecution DWLYLGDGHDXUtIHUDpXPDSULRULGDGHLQWHUQDFLRQDOGDV
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34
36 Mercury and gold mining in Colombia

Introduction into partnerships with other miners; mercury is easy

to use, highly effective in the capture of gold, very
Gold mining has generated controversy in recent accessible and easy to transport as well as cheaper
years due to its impact on the environment and on compared to other methods (Telmer and Veiga
human health (Ali 2006). However, the gold market 2009).
has been gaining prominence globally, causing the Artisanal mining can be small, medium or large
production of this resource to increase to over scale, typically employing rudimentary and instinctive
2,500 tons in 2010 (British Geological Survey 2012). techniques and devoid of long-term planning,
Correspondingly, gold production in Colombia in other words, the conventional techniques of
has increased by over 300% since 2006; its production geological exploration, drilling, proven reserves,
now ranks fifth in Latin America, exceeding Chile’s or engineering studies are not employed (Hinton
production but still below that of Peru, Mexico, et al. 2003, Veiga 1997). From a social standpoint,
Argentina and Brazil (British Geological Survey this type of mining is intimately connected with
2012). Today, the country produces about 54,000 poverty and lawlessness; sometimes, it is the only
kilograms of gold a year, mainly in the departments means of livelihood, especially in rural communities
of Chocó (24.500kg), Antioquia (19.000kg) and where economic alternatives are vastly limited. In
Bolivar (5.700kg), this represents 91% of the annual most cases, the resources necessary to process the
gold production in Colombia. The remaining 9% of corresponding concessions or mining rights are
production takes place mainly in the departments not available, much less, to implement techniques
of Caldas, Cauca, Huila, Nariño, Valle del Cauca, mitigation of environmental impacts (Hilson and
Tolima and Santander (Ministry of Mines and Pardie 2006). Thereon, it is important to understand
Energy 2011). Moreover, the country’s annual the difference between illegal and informal mining.
production is expected to increase significantly with Illegal mining refers to the exercise of an activity
the discovery of new mining areas in the Serrania of exploration and exploitation of minerals without
de San Lucas (Bolivar). This region covers over first obtaining the appropriate title, authorization
1.5 million hectares and is considered “the largest or concession by the mining authorities (Chaparro
gold mine in Latin America”. Also, areas in Colosa, 2002). Meanwhile, informal mining is a set of
located in the municipality of Cajamarca (Tolima), conditions in which some miners find themselves,
considered among the seven largest gold mines in this includes, in addition to their illegal status,
the world (Idárraga et al. 2010). deficiencies in environmental management, technical
One of the major impacts of gold mining is assistance, transfer and technological development,
the use of cyanide and mercury during the ore no access to health system and job security, and
beneficiation process to extract the gold. Modern no participation in decision-making processes that
and mechanized gold industries, however, use affect them, or access to information and humane
cyanide almost exclusively as serious health working conditions (IIED 2002).
and environmental issues have done away with In the artisanal mining beneficiation process
amalgamation using liquid mercury (Longsdon et mercury adheres to the gold to form an amalgam,
al. 2001). As a result, countries such as Venezuela which facilitates its separation from other minerals
have completely banned the use of mercury in the of no financial interest, this is called amalgamation.
mining activity. This is accomplished using mainly two techniques,
However, it is small-scale artisanal mining that each one releasing different quantities of mercury
is responsible for 20% to 30% of the world gold into the environment (Telmer and Veiga 2009,
production (UNEP 2005, Veiga et al. 2006) and Hylander et al. 2007, Veiga et al. 2006). In the first
the use of mercury to separate and extract gold technique, 100% of the material is amalgamated
from the surrounding gold bearing materials is the during the crushing, grinding and washing process;
favored practice (Veiga et al. 2006). The use of this method is considered the most polluting use
mercury allows the individual miners to accomplish of mercury, it requires 3 to 50 units of mercury to
the entire process independently without entering produce one unit of gold, on average about 5 units
Güiza & Aristizábal 35
37

A B

C D

E F

Fig. 1. Photographs of artisanal gold production in Colombia. A. Mechanized alluvial gold mining (Remedios,
Antioquia); B. Shaft or underground gold mine (Buenos Aires, Cauca), C. Barequero (gold panner) working alongside a
mechanized alluvial exploitation (Remedios, Antioquia); D. Women miners “chatarreras” (Suarez, Cauca); E. Children
in the mines (Remedios, Antioquia), F. Gold bars after the amalgamation and roasting process (Remedios, Antioquia).
36
38 Mercury and gold mining in Colombia

are produced (Figure 1a). 2011). In spills, mercury is deposited directly into the
It should be noted that only 10% of the material soil or water bodies (Telmer and Veiga 2009). Mercury
adheres to the amalgam in this process, indicating in the soil is absorbed by plants and makes its way to
that if 10g of mercury are used to produce 1g of the fruits and seeds consumed by herbivorous species
gold, 9g of mercury are released immediately into (Eisler 2004). In water, mercury is methylated by the
the environment and 1g remains in the amalgam. bacteria in sediments producing methylmercury,
The second technique involves the screening or which bioaccumulates along the food chain and
gravimetric concentration of gold bearing material accumulates, in high concentrations, in organisms
whereby the auriferous mineral collects with the that predate on fish (Liu et al. 2012). By consuming
heavier particles in a pan and the water washes the fish contaminated with methylmercury or the
away the lighter particles (Figure 1c). Mercury is plants grown from contaminated soils, humans
then added to the leftovers in the pan to unite or become the final recipients of the mercury (Eisler
amalgamate the finest particles of gold. In this case, 2004, UNEP 2005, Liu et al. 2012).
between 1 and 2 units of mercury is used to produce This is disturbing when you consider that
one unit of gold. In this process, 85% - 90% of Colombia is one of the major mercury importers
the mercury used adheres to the amalgamation. in the world. Close to 130 tons were imported in
Once the amalgam (50% gold and 50% mercury) 2011(Cordy et al 2011), 75% of which was used in
is obtained by any of the two previous processes, artisanal and small-scale mining (Telmer and Veiga
miners roast (heat) the amalgam to recover the 2009). Assuming that all national gold production
gold. When done outdoors, 100% of the mercury uses mercury in the beneficiation process, we
from the amalgam is released into the atmosphere; could roughly estimate, that if Colombia produces
therefore, the use of retorts is recommended to 54 tons of gold, we use 2.4g of mercury is used
capture mercury vapor and recover up to 95% of to produce 1g of gold, or double that if only half
reusable mercury. It is estimated that, globally, the of the national production uses mercury in the
use of these techniques discharges 1000 tons of beneficiation process. In comparison, it is estimated
waste mercury into the environment, 40% into the that 1.3g of mercury is used to produce 1g of gold
atmosphere and the remaining 60% are dumped on in Brazil (Sousa and Veiga 2007) and in Central
the soil and in the water (Pirrone et al. 2009, Cordy Kalimantan (Telmer and Stapper 2007). In these
et al. 2011). cases, 0.3g of mercury are discharged into the water
As mentioned, the mercury used to extract gold with tailings and coarse rejects and 1g of mercury
is highly polluting, it persists in the environment, is emitted into the atmosphere when the amalgam
it accumulates in food chains and it has damaging is roasted. However, as we mentioned previously,
effects on human health (Liu et al. 2012). In its the amount of mercury consumed per unit of
inorganic form, mercury can cause kidney damage, gold produced varies substantially depending on
increased blood pressure, digestive tract problems how the process of amalgamation is performed
and impact embryonic development as well as cause (Telmer and Veiga 2009). As a result of these large
a disorder called acrodynia (EPA 2007). However, it imports, Colombia has emerged as the third largest
is methylmercury, an organic form of mercury, which producer of mercury emissions, between 50 and
is the most dangerous because of its neurotoxicity. 100 tonnes per year (Telmer and Veiga 2008). In
It can cause permanent brain damage, blindness, some municipalities of Antioquia, air emissions
blurred vision, deafness, ataxia and death, and can are in the order of 200.000ng/m3 when the WHO
cause mutations and malformations in the nervous recommended limit is 200ng/m3 (Cordy et al. 2011).
system of fetuses (Eisler 2004, Liu et al. 2012). These environmental impacts are inconsistent,
Next to the combustion of fossil fuels, the however, with the Colombian legal system (Güiza
production of gold generates the most mercury 2011). To control the activity, the state requires two
emissions. Mercury released into the atmosphere general requisites of mining operations: a mining
by the roasting of amalgam causes respiratory tract title or mining concession (Law 685 of 2001 art.
problems in the people who breathe it (Cordy et al. 14) and an environmental permit (Decree 2820 of
Güiza & Aristizábal 37
39

2010 arts. 8 and 9). Additionally, environmental between December 2012 and January 2013 with three
authorities require other specific authorizations leaders of small traditional gold mining groups in
to engage in mining activities, such as a water three Colombian municipalities (Suppl. 2): Taraira in
concession permit (Decree 1541 of 1978 art. 36), the department of Vaupés, Suárez in the department
a forest resource use permit (Decree 1791 of 1996 of Cauca and Remedios in the department of
art. 12) and a wastewater discharge permit (Decree Antioquia. These leaders provided information on
3930 of 2010). the use of mercury in the activity, the efficiency of
In view of this, the need to identify and analyze mercury in the amalgamation process, the costs of
the causes and consequences compelling the elevated using mercury versus the cyanidation method and
use of mercury in auriferous activities becomes the average monthly salary of a gold miner. These
apparent. This need was intrinsic in the objectives individuals were selected based on their acquaintance
of an interinstitutional accord between the Office with the activity and therefore a more significant
of the Ombudsman and the Universidad del Rosario sample is not required since they are not reporting
to establish a baseline and analyze various mining on the conditions of each individual miner, rather
conflicts impinging on human rights in Colombia. on the most general conditions of the activity.
Expanding on this, this paper presents the results 3. The National 2011 Census on Mining Activities,
and discussion in three parts. The first part, deals obtained by the Ombudsman’s Office from the
with mining and environmental informality and Ministry of Mines and Energy. This census collected
illegality in mining activities in the country. The information on 14,357 mining units or mines, both
second describes and analyzes the public policies legal (with mining title) and illegal (without mining
and state management against illegal mining and title), and analyzed 323 variables for each mine
the use of mercury; and the third, presents the (Suppl. 3). This information was submitted on May
results of the review of scientific literature on the 25, 2012.
environmental impacts on human health and the 4. A review of current national standards
indiscriminate use of mercury in mining. on mercury use permissibility in gold mining in
Colombia. To locate these standards, an examination
of databases belonging to Notinet and the Secretary
Materials and Methods of the Senate of the Republic of Colombia was
conducted between October and December 2012.
This article is the result of an investigation supported 5. A probe of online news to determine
by the Colombian Ombudsman’s Office, during the number and the location of security forces
its execution we accessed information provided operations to close illegal gold mines and prosecute
by municipal mayoral offices and national mining their employees. We compared news reports of
authorities regarding a line of research focused raids during the second term of President Álvaro
on mining conflicts in Colombia. Six sources of Uribe Vélez (August 2006-August 2010) and reports
information were considered during data collection: of operations carried out by the government of
1. Semi-structured surveys sent from the President Juan Manuel Santos (August 2010-August
Ombudsman Office to the mayors of the 2014). The search was achieved using Google, the
municipalities with the strongest gold mining tradition descriptors used were: operations, illegal mining,
in the country (Suppl. 1). In total, information was confiscation, gold, Colombia, and mine closures.
requested from 110 of the 1,119 municipalities in Additionally a news page filter was used.
Colombia (10%) and prioritized by the number of 6. A review of scientific literature on studies
mining units by municipality according to a previous carried out in Colombia indicating the impacts
study sponsored by the same entity (Güiza 2010). By of gold mining related mercury pollution on
the cutoff date of July 13, 2012, 54 responses (50% the environment and on human health. Several
of the sample) were received from the total number documentary sources were used to locate the
of requests issued. bibliographical documents. The search was
2. Semi-structured verbal survey conducted conducted between November and December
38
40 Mercury and gold mining in Colombia

Table 1. Matrix of variables and categories used in the study. General objective: identify and analyze the causes
and consequences that are generating high levels of consumption of mercury in gold mining in Colombia.

Objective Dependent Independent Categories

N° Variable Variable

1 Gauge and Number of mines Location Departments

identify the causes Production scale Small, medium and large-scale mining
that induce the Legality of mining With mining title, without mining title
use of mercury in
gold mining Number of jobs Ethnic community Indigenous, Afro-Colombian
Particulars men, women

Socio-economic Economic conditions precarious, acceptable, good

conditions Education illiterate, primary, secondary, university

Beneficiation of the Chemical products none, cyanide, mercury

mineral employed
Reasons for the choice economic, complexity, knowledge
of a particular method

Environmental Environmental license Has or does not have

legality of the mines Environmental Water concessions, use permits,
authorizations subtraction from reserves, wastewater
Environmental discharge permit
management plan Has or does not have

2 Identify policies Regulations on the Permissibility Forbidden, allowed, restricted

and state use of mercury in
management mining
undertaken
to prevent or
mitigate the high Mining formalization Efficiency Number of illegal, applications
consumption of approved, application in progress
mercury in gold Attack on informality
mining Criminalization It is or is not stipulated as an offense
under the criminal code
Persecution List of cases reported by the media in
the last two years

3 Review of Environmental Fauna geographic location, impact size,

scientific literature impact of the use of Flora mercury concentration
reporting damage mercury in mining Air geographic location, impact size,
to health and the Water mercury concentration
environmental Soils geographic location, impact size,
as a result of the Humans mercury concentration
use of mercury in geographic location, impact size,
gold mining mercury concentration
geographic location, impact size,
mercury concentration
geographic location, impact size,
mercury concentration
Güiza & Aristizábal 39
41

2012 in Scopus, ISI and Redalyc using the following

descriptors: gold mining, artisanal mining, mercury
pollution, small-scale mining, collectively combined
with the word Colombia. We obtained between 4
and 49 logs after combining the different keywords.
We also performed an Internet search using the
“Google Scholar” search engine and using the same
key terms.
The variables analyzed using these sources and
their respective categories are presented in Table 1.
The processing of the results was performed
using the triangulation between the analysis of the
information obtained from the three previous items,
the analysis of public policies and legal instruments
governing the issue and the studies found in the
literature review.

Results

Mining and environmental informality and

illegality: According to the census of mining
activities conducted in 2011, there are 4,134 gold
mines in Colombia; 550 of these mines have the  
appropriate mining titles and 3,584 do not. This Fig. 2. Gold Mines in Colombia in 2011. °: With mining
means that 87% of gold mining in Colombia is title (legal). •: Mining w/o title (illegal). The highest
illegal or, according to Colombian mining laws, lack density of points is found in the Cordillera Central and
the corresponding mining title duly registered with Occidental (central and western mountain range), also
the National Mining Registry (Law 685 of 2001, where the largest population in the country resides.
art. 14). Figure 2 shows the preponderance of gold
exploitation in northeastern Colombia and along production does not exceed two hundred fifty (250)
the Cordillera Occidental (western mountain range). tons of material (Mining Technical Glossary 2003).
Seventy-two percent of these mines are located In fact, according to the census of mining activities,
mainly in the departments of Antioquia, Bolivar most gold mining operations in Colombia are small-
and Chocó and 94% of them are illegal operations. scale (2,815 mines) operations; they represent about
On the other hand, gold mining operations with 70% of the country’s gold exploitation. Followed
a mining title (13%) are located predominantly in by medium-scale mines with 1,275 mines and lastly
the departments of Antioquia, Huila, Caquetá, large-scale mines with only 44 in the entire country.
Santander and Norte de Santander (Figure 2). Illegal exploitations predominate in both small-
Although mining legislation in Colombia does scale and medium-scale mining, whereas legality
not distinguish or provide a stratification based predominates in large-scale operations (Figure 3).
on the size of mining operations, for academic According to the census, gold mining generates
purposes, we will classify them into three mining 49,889 jobs; 39,824 are provided by illegal mining
production scales: small, medium and large-scale (80%); while legal mining contributes 10,065.
mining. The only legal definition available is for Similarly, the participation of ethnic populations in
small-scale mining, which refers to shallow mines, these activities is high, with more than 10% of the
created with ordinary, manually operated tools and jobs occupied by these communities: 6,207 Afro-
implements, powered by human strength and whose Colombians and 596 indigenous peoples. In total,
40
42 Mercury and gold mining in Colombia

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Number of mines

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a month depending on the mine’s production level licenses, waste water discharge permits, forest
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mineral, the data obtained from interviews with Environmental Legal 2 11
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and persecuted, if found out, the authorities may Water concession Legal 2 11
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Use of forest Legal 0.6 13
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amalgamation and it is performed in a shorter
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Güiza & Aristizábal 41
43

1% of mines and the wastewater discharge permit is that examines the application of mercury and its
acquired by only 2% of the gold mines. The latter is consequences and also offers alternative methods to
critical to manage the dumping of mercury into the contribute to the reduction of pollution, however,
environment. It is remarkable that the two essential this guide is not mandatory.
requirements for mining are an environmental Whereas for illegal mining, any mining activity
license and an environmental management plan; without the corresponding mining title is forbidden
however, it was established that 90% of legal mining even by the provisions of criminal law (Penal Code
operations have neither. art. 338) and its violation is punishable by fines of
up to 50,000 minimum wages and up to 144 months
Public policies and state management: Our in prison. Of course, this prohibition includes the
review of existing applicable standards confirmed process of beneficiation of minerals using mercury
that the legal system restricts the use of mercury in so its execution without due authorization by the
legal and illegal gold mining. Regarding legal mining, mining authority carries a fine and the deprivation
Decree 2222 of 1993 prohibits the use of mercury of liberty.
for the procurement of gold unless technical studies However, this criminal sanction has not impeded
deem it indispensable. Where authorized, the release the high rates of illegal gold mining in Colombia,
of mercury into bodies of water is prohibited proving that the implemented legalization policies
(art. 244); the use of mercury collection systems have not been as successful as hoped. The first
is mandatory in dredging washout plants (art. indication of this, as mentioned, is that 87% of the
295); miners are required to use hermetic retorts existing gold mining operations in the country are
to reduce emissions of mercury vapors released illegal. Secondly, within the last 15 years, government
by the roasting amalgam (art. 267); amalgamation has offered small miners three opportunities to
activities must be conducted indoors (art. 293); legalize their operations through Laws 141 of 1994,
and a contingency plan to prevent and handle any 685 of 2001 and 1382 of 2010. Seven years after
mercury spills that may occur must be implemented the second opportunity (Law 685 of 2001), out
(art. 268). Lastly, Article 295 requires recovery and of 3,631 applications submitted, only 23 mines
collection systems to not exceed the permissible were legalized, demonstrating an effectiveness
limits of contamination. of less than 1% for the program (SIGOB 2007).
From an environmental standpoint, it is worth Thirdly, the 2011 mining census confirmed that
noting that an environmental license is required to out of 9,041 illegal mines, only 382 are in a mining
begin the stages of mining exploitation (Law 99 of legalization program, this is equivalent to a total of
1993 art. 49, Decree 2820 of 2010 arts. 8 and 9). This only 4% within the legalization process. Fourthly,
license is issued once the appropriate environmental the municipalities with the highest gold mining
impact study is analyzed and approved; the study tradition in the country (Pasto, Nariño; Cucunubá,
must adhere to the terms of reference provided Cundinamarca; La Uvita, Boyacá; Tunja, Boyacá;
by the environmental authorities (Law 99 of 1993 Yaruma, Segovia and Añuri, Antioquia) reported
art. 57). However, the terms of reference for the only 149 mines in the mining formalization process,
exploitation of alluvial gold issued in 1998 by the a total figure similar to the previous. And lastly,
Ministry of Environment (MMA) do not take into according to the evaluation program implemented
account aspects related to the use of mercury and by Colombia’s National Results-Based Management
despite requests since 2010, they have not been and Evaluation System (SINERGIA 2012) of the
updated (Decree 2820 of 2010 art. 14). On the other formalized small mining associations program,
hand the terms of reference for gold vein mining, between July 2011 and October 2012 not a single
although also issued in 1998, include requirements small mining association was formalized in the
to identify and evaluate mercury vapors emitted country. Among the qualitative achievements of this
and the pollution by mercury of water and soil formalized small mining associations program is the
(MMA 1998). It is worth mentioning that there is completion of five mining formalization sessions
an environmental gold mining guide (MMA 1999) in the departments of Huila, Cundinamarca,
42
44 Mercury and gold mining in Colombia

Cordoba, Antioquia, Boyacá, mining roundtables in 2012, 536 mines were closed and 1,600 people
in the departments of Chocó and Nariño, the were arrested mostly in the departments of Bolivar,
implementation of a pilot program in the lower Nariño, Tolima and Valle. No reports of operations
Cauca region of Antioquia, miner forums for conducted during the second term of President
indigenous communities in the Colombian Amazon Álvaro Uribe Vélez (August 2006 - August 2010),
in Guainía and Vaupés and finally the issuance of were found in the media, which indicates that this
Decree 1970 of September 21, 2012 which redefines policy of law enforcement used to control illegal
the mining authority’s requirements of traditional mining was adopted during the current presidency.
miners to legalize their activity when working in
mines without titles registered with the National Consequences on health and the environment:
Mining Registry that are state-owned. Notably, the Table 3 lists several studies conducted in Colombia,
most significant change in the most recent mining which demonstrate mercury contamination in the
legalization process reform is that illegal miners environment and the consequent poisoning of
are now allowed to apply for concessions in areas residents and neighbors in areas where gold mining
declared forest reserves, this is also allowed for large activities take place. In addition to the studies,
mining concessions. This proves that in some cases, this table lists the concentrations encountered,
the requirements for the legalization of artisanal the natural resources affected and the geographic
miners are more demanding than those required for location for each of them. In the section dealing with
large mining concessions. The prohibition enforced mercury poisoning in humans, it identifies whether
on illegal miners to apply for mining concessions the sample used to test this was blood, urine or hair.
in forest reserve areas in the country eliminated for Most studies related to mercury contamination have
the majority, any possibility of formalizing since the been conducted on fish; we can, therefore, confirm
areas deemed forest reserves in Colombia (Law 2 of the presence of mercury in the water sources of the
1959) occupy 45% of the national territory. different regions studied.
However, the reality of Colombia is that much These studies found mercury concentrations in
of the area occupied by small miners overlaps with the air up to a thousand times higher than allowed
areas already under concession (Law 865 of 2001 by the WHO (200ng/m3) (Cordy et al. 2011). In
art. 45). It is estimated that 90% of the areas are fish, mercury concentrations reached 1,08μg/g in
already under a concession agreement, limiting Bolivar (Olivero-Solano 1998) and 0,996μg/g in La
the possibility of effective legalization (Delgado Mojana (Marrugo-Negrete et al. 2008), when the
2012) given that mining legalization applications allowable concentrations are up to 0.5μg/g (WHO
are outright rejected in areas under concession 1991). Regarding poisoning in humans, Medina-
(Decree 1870 of 2012 art. 3). Similarly, negotiations Mosquera et al. (2011) found that 80% of the study
mediated by the state authority in this matter (Law population had high concentrations of mercury in
1382 of 2010 art. 12, Decree 1870 of 2012 art. 8) do their blood (38,52μg/L), urine (141,97μg/L) and
not require engaging into association or operation hair (82,59ppm), even with no risk limits of 10μg/L
agreements, therefore, if a consensus is not reached, for blood, 20μ/L for urine and 5ppm for hair,
the opportunities for traditional miners to formalize according the the WHO (1991).
their activities come to an end. The studies on mercury contamination are mostly
As a final point, the news probe yielded focused on the departments of Antioquia, Bolivar
information regarding police operatives carried and Chocó. However, mercury contamination is also
out during the mandate of current President Juan prevalent in other areas, such as the municipalities
Manuel Santos (August 2010 - August 2014), of Neiva, Girardot and some coastal marshes in
which led to the closure, in 2010, of more than the Caribbean (Table 3). Among the most polluted
56 illegal mines and the arrest of 573 people in 18 rivers are the San Jorge and the Cauca, as well as
departments of Colombia mainly in Antioquia and the Magdalena River marshes, which supply the
Cordoba. In 2011, 329 gold mines were closed and departments with the highest number of illegal gold
1,228 people were detained in 27 departments. Then mines in the country.
Güiza & Aristizábal 43
45

Table 3. Environmental impacts of mercury used in gold mining in Colombia. World Health Organization (WHO)
permissible limits (1991): Water: 0.001mg/l, Fish 0.5μg/g, Blood 10μg/l, Urine 20μg/l, hair 5ppm and air 200ng/m3.

IMPACT
Human
Colombian Air Water Plants Fish Blood Urine Hair Reference
Department (ng/m3) (μg/l) (μg/g) (μg/g) (μg/l) (μg/l) (ppm)
Sucre 0.116-0.602 Marrugo-Negrete et
0.054-0.639 al. (2008)
0.041-0.669
0.036-0.247
0.073-0.996
0.048-0.689
0.035-0.207
Chocó 0.60-15.73 0.02-17.61 0.18-2.31 Medina-Mosquera et
2.13 1.38-3.12 0.10-1.28 al. (2011)
8.05-19.29 0.58-12.12 0.30-14.62
0.80-32.78 8.50-25.94 19.65-79.32
1.64-2.61 5.37 0.96
2.86-22.94 10.95-29.46 0.87-76.29
1.97-38.52 20.19- 0.55-82.59
16.61 111.51 48.69
0.76-14.27 141.97 0.25-29.64
9.44-44.92
Antioquia 10-60.000 Cordy et al. (2011)
100-943.000
40-80.000
30-200.000
Bolívar 5.27 Olivero-Verbel et al.
2.44 (2011)
2.2
0.9
0.92
0.94
1.08
1.57
1.77
1.24
1.06
1.09

Sucre 0.158-0.210 Olivero-Verbel et al.

0.075-0.198 (2004)

Bolívar 0.11-29.20 Olivero et al. (1995)

0.01-0.56
Bolívar 0.14-0.39 0.11-0.43 0.011-1.08 Olivero & Solano
(1998)
Antioquia 0.040-0.93 Alvarez et al. (2012)
Caldas 0.008-0.092
Sucre 4.91 Olivero et al. (2002)
Eight 0.001-1.236 Mancera-Rodríguez
departments & Álvarez-León
(2006)
44
46 Mercury and gold mining in Colombia

Discussion 200,000, Bolivia 100,000, Ecuador 60,000, Peru

50,000 Venezuela 40,000, Chile 12,000, Nicaragua
Mining and environmental informality and 6000, Argentina 5800, Cuba 5000, Panama 4500
illegality: According to research results, gold and the Dominican Republic 3000. The discrepancy
mining in Colombia is characterized as an illegal and in the results is obvious, according to the mining
small-scale, artisanal craft (60% of the country’s census the number of jobs generated by small scale
gold mining). This type of mining presents a unique gold mining in Colombia does not exceed 50,000
opportunity for communities living in impoverished jobs; however, according to Cordy et al. (2011) this
rural areas with indexes of poverty and indigence of figure is around 200,000 (0.43% of the Colombian
about 60% by Colombian standards (United Nations population), making it clear that despite conducting
2010). By participating in these mining activities, a mining census in Colombia, we are still far from
workers from these impoverished communities can determining the actual numbers of jobs in this
generate per capita income between U.S.$500 and activity. The illegality of this large percentage of
U.S.$3,000 per month depending on the production auriferous activities (87%) in Colombia continues to
of the mine. However, despite its social and be one of the principle reasons that exact numbers
economic importance, most mines operate outside are unascertainable; the clandestine nature of the
of the legal framework and activities are carried out activities compel illegal miners to refrain from
in areas under concession by third parties or devoid disclosing actual data, making the figures unrealistic.
of any permits, and are frequently persecuted by law If we compare the data compiled by the Ministry
enforcement (Wotruba et al. 2000). of Environment (2002) with the data from the
Small-scale gold mining is neither a recent nor 2011 mining census, it is evident that gold mining
local activity. Rather it is an activity that has existed in Colombia has doubled in the last 10 years
since before the arrival of the Spanish to Latin from 2,129 mines in 2002 to 4,134 mines in 2011.
America (West 1972) and its reach is worldwide Although gold production and the number of gold
(Siegel and Veiga 2009). The individuals carrying out mines increased by 100% from 2002 (MMA 2002)
this activity are called many names depending on the to 2011 (2011 mining census), the geographical
region. They are called pirquineros in Argentina and distribution of gold mining in Colombia is virtually
Chile (Decree No. 123 of 2001, art. 3) palliri, jukus, unchanged (Figure 2). This means that the natural
and barranquilleros in Bolivia, garimpeiros in Brazil resources and human populations impacted by the
(Garimpeiro Statute – Act 685 art. 2), barequeros activity have continued to be the same for the past 10
and chatarreras (Figure 1d) in Colombia (Mining years, even though the magnitude of contributions
Code - Act 685 of 2001 s. 155), coligalleros in Costa of contaminants may have doubled, among these,
Rica (Mining Code Regulations art. 4), jancheros in the use of mercury.
Ecuador (Pillajo 2003) gambusinos in Honduras and Not having secured the rights over the minerals,
Mexico (Gonzalez-Sanchez and Camprubi 2010), small gold miners are exposed to being evicted or
lavadores de oro (gold washers) in the Dominican invaded. Their productions may be confiscated or
Republic and güiriseros in Nicaragua (Decree 119 they may be subjected to extreme conditions to
of 2001 art. 56), to name a few. Also, they are called carry out their work, some even having to endure
galamsey in several African countries (Bush 2009). the abuse of processors, traders and corrupt
Despite its propagation and tradition, the officials (Mosquera 2005). This persecution by
concealment and illegality that surrounds small- public authorities and the marginalization resulting
scale gold mining activities makes understanding from difficult economic conditions may also prevent
the dimension of its productivity and employment them from participating in policies relating to their
offerings complex. Internationally, the study working and living conditions (Tschakert 2009).
conducted by the ILO (1999) stands out. The It was determined that small gold miners in the
study estimates the number of workers in small- Colombian municipalities of Suarez and Remedios,
scale mining of all minerals and classifies them are sporadically extorted by groups outside the
by countries as follows: Brazil 250,000, Colombia law to be allowed to perform the activities vital in
Güiza & Aristizábal 45
47

obtaining their subsistence. In view of this legal the beginning of the current President Juan
uncertainty, the persecution of the authorities, Manuel Santos’s presidency, the persecution by law
the precarious economic conditions and non enforcement has led to the closure of 921 gold
participation in decisions that affect them directly, mines and the incarceration of more than 3,400
gold miners prefer to use products like mercury artisanal miners.
in the amalgamation of gold instead of using However, the most suitable solution, given the
techniques requiring greater investments of time high rates of illegality and social impacts associated
and money such as cyanidation. with this activity, is through policies that seek to
Consequence of this informality, 95% of all the incorporate informal labor into legitimacy with
gold mines in the country have no environmental the protection and promotion of the state; policies
authorizations, which points to the authorities that recognize the activity as a means of sustenance
responsible for the environmental protection for a sector that has been marginalized from
of the country who, obviously, consider almost institutionalism for years and implement mining
none of the gold exploitation operations in the formalization processes that are sensible to the socio-
country sustainable. In other words, according economic conditions of the miners. As mentioned
to environmental institutions, only 5% of all earlier, so far in Colombia the formalization of these
Colombian gold meets environmental principles. processes has not had significant success, partly
The dilemma is that most gold mining is illegal and because of the demanding requirements placed
tens of thousands of rural families have depended upon small miners and because many of the areas
on it for decades for their livelihood. Therefore, one have been licensed to major miners long after the
viable solution, from an environmental and social first miners began their activities in these locations.
standpoint, is the formalization of the activity in It is clear that regulations alone will not create
order to restrict the use of mercury and improve formal jobs in dignified conditions. An important
mining practices and in this way inflict less potential social investment in gold mining regions is
impacts on the environment. necessary, as well as formalization strategies that
distinguish in favor of small-scale miners and
Public policy and state management: in an effort dismiss any approximation with large-scale mining
to address the informality and illegality of mining when obtaining environmental and mining permits.
activities, government has adopted different strategic In addition, for this legislation to have legitimacy,
guidelines and policies, all with little success. On the it must be participatory and adapt to a social
one hand, there are those conceived from a strategy consensus and the reality of these miners (Veiga
designed to support subsistence, a policy against and Siegel 2009). Miners in Colombia have not been
poverty following a welfare guideline, but without involved in the creation and implementation of
recognizing the activity. This has been an issue these regulations and this has been a major cause
in many regions like the municipalities of Taraira of the failure of these programs. As mentioned by
(Vaupés department) and Buenos Aires and Suárez Siegel and Veiga (2009), the formalization process
(Cauca department) where small gold miners have has failed mainly due to the unwillingness of
been given mining supplies and machinery but not governments to implement these policies and the
the recognition of their legality. The artisanal miners inability of miners to afford the process and to fulfill
in these particular municipalities have denounced the demanding requirements necessary to obtain
that after being given machinery and equipment for environment licenses. Idárraga et al. (2010) have
mining by the government the concession of the documented the main cause for this breakdown,
mining areas were issued to foreign companies. specifically in the case of Colombia, is the difficulty
A second form of government action against to obtain environmental permits and licenses, given
the issue of illegal mining is to seek its eradication that the requirements imposed upon small miners
without consideration for the communities that by the Mining Code and environmental laws are
engage in this activity because they have no other the same requirements as those required from large
means of livelihood. As mentioned before, since mining concessions.
48
46 Mercury and gold mining in Colombia

Furthermore, these programs to formalize 2011), in water resources (Olivero-Verbel et al.

mining should be bolder in settling overlap issues 2004), in fish (Mancera-Rodriguez and Alvarez-
between traditional mining (Law 1382 of 2010 art. Leon 2006) and in humans (Medina-Mosquera et al.
12) and the areas concessioned to large mining 2011, Olivero-Verbel et al. 2011).
companies. When you consider that nearly 90% We have previously stated that artisanal miners
of the areas in which illegal mining occurs are prefer the use of mercury because it is inexpensive,
areas already under concession, it is clear that if easy to use and quick to separate the gold from gold
government does not interfere in these cases with bearing materials. Despite that, we only identified
more than simple mediation (Decree 1870 of 2012 with certainty that 6% of gold mines use mercury in
art. 8), illegal mining will persist in the country for the gold beneficiation process; however, another 37%
many years to come. One solution would be to of the mines withheld this information, probably
require large mining operations to cede part of their because the miners are aware of the prohibitions
lands under concession to be used for small-scale and the impacts on the environment and on health
artisanal gold mining. surrounding the use of mercury. This is apparent in
To conclude, if gold production in the country towns like Segovia (Antioquia) where according to
continues to increase and we disregard the the 2011 mining census, there are 167 gold mines
formalization of the mining processes, the impacts and the annual reported sales of mercury in the
generated by the increased use of mercury in this municipality was 18 tons (Cordy et al. 2011), yet none
activity will be catastrophic. The legalization and of the mines reported information regarding the use
formalization of small-scale gold mining enables of mercury in their mining activities. In addition,
the structuring of environmental management plans we believe that given the stigmatization associated
and facilitates the effective control by environmental with the use of mercury, many of the miners who
authorities (Güiza 2008). This will result in the denied its use in their activities (57%) may very well
mitigation of environmental damages and the be using it. Our hypothesis on the widespread use
compliance with environmental regulations, such as of mercury in informal mining is also based on the
the restriction on the release of mercury wastewater fact that Colombia is among the largest importers
into water sources (Decree 2222 of 1993 art. 244) of mercury (Telmer and Veiga 2009) and it is one
and the use of mercury only when it is necessary of the countries most contaminated by this product
and after evaluating other alternatives (Decree 2222 (Cordy et al. 2011). Accordingly, we also conclude
of 1993 art. 293). that the majority of illegal small-scale miners, which
represent 60% of the country’s gold exploitation,
Consequences on health and the environment: are using mercury in their gold beneficiation process.
As previously mentioned, 72% of all the gold mines In view of the high environmental illegality and the
in Colombia are located in the northeast and along widespread use of mercury, studies confirm the high
the Cordillera Occidental (western mountain range), concentrations of this product in humans, wildlife,
mainly in the departments of Antioquia, Bolivar and the air (Table 3). This proves that despite the
and Chocó. They are mostly small-scale, untitled environmental damage, environmental authorities
mines, constructed ​​rudimentarily and devoid of any have been weak in controlling these impacts. As it
type of environmental authorizations, making them is not only the mines operating without a mining
potential mercury users in the amalgamation process title, but between 11% and 13% of the mines with
and the beneficiation of gold and responsible for a mining title that have no environmental license or
the consequent environmental impacts the use of authorization to pursue an activity that increases the
this product generates (Telmer and Veiga 2009). chances of mercury use and its improper disposal,
Coincidentally, studies conducted in Colombia on emission or discharge into the environment.
mercury contamination were carried out in these
same areas and on the watersheds that irrigate them
(Table 3). The results of these studies confirmed
serious effects of mercury in the air (Cordy et al.
Güiza & Aristizábal 49
47

Conclusion Contamination and Toxicology 88:65–68

British Geological Survey (2012) World mineral
The causes generating the high levels of mercury production 2006-2010 Keyworth, Nottingham
British Geological Survey, London
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Bush R (2009) Soon there will be no-one left to take the
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contamination in fish from gold mining areas in
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