{"id":50054228,"date":"2022-05-23T15:05:22","date_gmt":"2022-05-23T14:05:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stage.dialogochino.net\/?p=54228"},"modified":"2024-10-07T12:45:42","modified_gmt":"2024-10-07T11:45:42","slug":"54228-zijins-difficult-days-in-buritica","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/justice\/54228-zijins-difficult-days-in-buritica\/","title":{"rendered":"Zijin\u2019s difficult days in Buritic\u00e1"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Hundreds of people wearing white t-shirts to indicate their pacifism protested against Chinese mining company Zijin in Buritic\u00e1 town square on 9 February this year. This municipality of 10,000 inhabitants, located in Colombia\u2019s northwestern Antioquia department, historically lives off agriculture and informal mining. On that day, as on previous occasions over the past two years, its residents showed their discontent with the company that owns one of Colombia\u2019s largest and most significant gold mines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“We don’t want the state to be a daddy who gives us everything, we want to have agriculture and mining projects. It\u2019s all we are asking for. They promised it,” an informal miner who preferred not to be named told Di\u00e1logo Chino, as he sat chained to a statue of an indigenous man killed in colonial times for refusing to reveal where the gold lay. The statue was donated to by the mine\u2019s former owners, Canada\u2019s Continental Gold. Many residents often use the names Zijin and Continental interchangeably to refer to the mine\u2019s owners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zijin bought the mining project from Continental Gold at the end of 2019 for 3.6 trillion Colombian pesos (between US$900 million and $1 billion) and the acquisition was finalised<\/a> in early 2020. It included a licence to exploit gold in an 1,893.8-hectare area for 14 years. Under Continental Gold, the project earned praise for its high level of community engagement<\/a> and promised support of local social projects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Peaceful protestors in Buritic\u00e1 town square in February called for environmental protection and the right to work (image: Ernst Udo Drawert)<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

However, since Zijin’s management began, three strikes have taken place in the municipality. The first was in March 2020, a few days after Covid-19 lockdowns began in Colombia. The second was in October 2021, which ended with the intervention of Esmad<\/a>, the anti-riot squad. February\u2019s was the third. The municipality\u2019s various demands have not permitted the Chinese company to work without interruption.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Accusations against Zijin<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Gold seems to be everywhere in these parts. According to the Ministry of Mines and Energy, 77.45% of the 47.6 tonnes of gold produced in the country came from Antioquia, mainly the municipalities of Buritic\u00e1, Caucasia and El Bagre.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A miner who worked for Zijin says that the first strike took place because while the whole country went into confinement “and everyone was locked up, they [Zijin] were working as if nothing had happened. This strike was to demand that they respect the quarantine”. He also complains that his contract was not renewed because he took part in the protests. “They are putting in more personnel from China and they are not taking into account the people of the area,” added the interviewee, who asked to remain anonymous.<\/p>\n\n\n\n