Blood gold: From conflict zones in Colombia to jewelry stores in the US
Blood gold: From conflict zones in Colombia to jewelry stores in the US
The trial of Colombian exporter Goldex for money laundering reveals how dirty gold reaches two American companies
November 18, 2015 5:00AM ET
by James Bargent & Michael Norby
In the department of Cauca in southern Colombia, newly constructed huts and fresh tracks made by heavy machinery indicate an old, abandoned mine is seeing new life. As many as 30 workers were killed here in a landslide in the summer of 2014 and most of their bodies still lie under tons of fallen rock and mud. Now, mining operations are about to begin again.
“The machines came in at night a few days ago,” says a community leader from Santander de Quilichao, the municipality where the mine is located. He did not wish to be named, as he has received multiple death threats because of his activism around mining. The machines are brought in secretly so the locals “can’t mobilize and try to stop them,” he adds.
That’s not the only sign that the reopening of the mine is a furtive affair. Armed men posted at the entrance quickly turn strangers away, but one sentry insists that everything is “totally normal and peaceful.” The machete he brandishes undermines his message of calm. “There are no armed groups here. This is all artisanal mining in this area, but you have to go now.”
It is a lie that no one is expected to believe. Small-scale gold miners have worked here for centuries. They say they are being forced out at gunpoint to make way for criminal mining operations loosely connected to paramilitary groups, drug traffickers and leftist guerrillas. These armed groups forcibly take over territory from traditional miners. Those who attempt to resist are left with a brutal choice: displacement or death.
More:
http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2015/11/18/blood-gold-colombia.html
