Mining, Society, and Environment

Abstract

Written by a student and a professor from the Faculty of Mines of the Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Medellín campus, this article systematizes the contributions of the 2008 Pedro Nel Gómez Chair on the relationship among mining, society, and environment. The authors document the main environmental impacts of mining and the Colombian regulatory framework governing it, and analyze the recurring social conflicts between communities and mining companies across Latin America. The text describes the legal framework for ethnic community participation under Law 685 of 2001, presents the concept of sustainable mining based on macroeconomic indicators, and concludes that mining sustainability requires effective community participation and regional economic diversification.