Open-pit gold project called off in Colombia

Colombia’s Ministry of the Environment, Housing and Territorial Development has ordered one of the largest open-pit gold projects in the world to stop, citing a new law that prohibits mining in fragile, water-rich highlands known as páramos. The ministry ruled April 23 that Vancouver, Canada-based Greystar Resources could not build its billion-dollar Angostura gold and silver mine in the northeastern department of Santander because more than half of the project is situated in the Santurbán páramo. That páramo, like all páramos, is legally off limits to mining under a February 2010 law modifying the nation’s mining code. Though Greystar submitted its environmental-impact study last December before the new law was passed, the ministry says Greystar would have to redesign the... [Log in to read more]

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