Colombia: Explosion at Coal Mine Kills At Least 21, War on Illegal Mining Continues
On Tuesday, 14th March, an explosion in a coal mining network in Colombia reportedly killed 21 people . The blast occurred in Sutatausa, in the department of Cundinamarca, about 75 kilometres north of the national capital of Bogotá.
10 miners continue to be trapped inside the mine, as most rescue operations have failed thus far. So far, 7 miners escaped by themselves while 2 were rescued. Miners are surviving on limited food, supply, shelter, and oxygen.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro has not yet visited the explosion site. Instead, Petro opted to offer his condolences and solidarity over Twitter. The Governor of Cundinamarca, Nicolas García, also did not visit the blast site.
The explosion was allegedly caused due to improper regulation around the site. Gases were allowed to accumulate under high pressure. One of the mining workers operated a tool that created a spark at a high pressure point, leading to combustion.
The mining site was a series of interconnected mines near Sutatausa, in the Andean region of Colombia, where most of the country’s mines are located. The mines have been operated by Minas y Minerales Minminer since 2002, with the lease lasting until 2032. Their licence has been suspended by the Colombian government as a result of the blast, at least until the public investigation is concluded.
Mining accidents are quite common at mines in Colombia, as 148 people died in 2021 in Colombia due to such accidents. In August last year, nine miners had to be rescued due to a mining accident at another site near Sutatausa. Colombia reported 1,260 mining incidents from 2011 to 2022, averaging 103 deaths per year.
Mining incidents are even more common in illegal mines, also prominent in Colombia and the Andes. 85 percent of gold exports originates from illegal mines according to the Comptroller General of Colombia.
In the region, illegal mines are mostly run by criminal armed groups, like FARC dissidents, the ELN, and various right-wing self-defence groups.
The Petro government has declared a “total war” on illegal mining, particularly illegal gold mining. On March 1st, Colombian Minister of Defence Iván Velásquez issued a statement to allocate defence ressources towards fighting illegal mining operations.
In response, a miners’ strike was organised, concentrated in Antioquia, and promoted by the right-wing paramilitary Clan del Golfo, or Gulf Clan. At least two people died in the strike due to clashes between locals and protesters.
The AGC also reportedly organised attacks against police stations in Antioquia as a result of the announcement. On March 10th, the AGC injured six, including two minors, at a police station in Cáceres, Antioquia.
The AGC and miners also blocked the main road between Medellín and the Caribbean coast. Medellín is the largest home base for a lot of mining operations, both legal and illegal. Attacks against infrastructure, including water sanitation and distribution plants, were also coordinated by the AGC in Antioquia.
The attacks affected locals’ ability to access food, water, and medicine. The AGC denies responsibility for the attacks, but President Petro and his government insist that the group was behind the attacks. The attacks would violate the ceasefire agreement between the AGC and the Colombian government, in place since January.
The coal mine blast in Cundinamarca and regular mining incidents in the Colombian Andes raise doubts about Colombia’s environmental mining regulations.
The incidents may lead to a decrease in foreign investment in mining in Colombia and the Andes in general, due to the high risk of an environmental, human, economic, and public relations disaster.
The high proclivity of illegal mining operations in Colombia may also lead to a decrease in foreign interest in Colombian gold and other mining exports.
Colombia under Petro will work to tighten environmental mining relations and heighten its fight against illegal mining, to bolster foreign mining investments.