Sustainable Mining Development: A Collective Construction

Abstract

Written by a mining and metallurgical engineering consultant, this article presents the Strategic Environmental Assessment methodology implemented by the Ministry of Mines and Energy under the Colombia Minera, Responsible Development project, developed through participatory workshops in the country's Mining Districts. The author presents figures on the economic contribution of Colombian mining: 200,000 direct jobs and 21.1% of national exports in 2007. The text argues that Colombia is at an early stage of mining exploration compared to Chile, presenting the operation of Cerromatoso and Mineros S.A.'s environmental recoveries as positive cases.