00:00A Canadian multinational is searching for copper in Chocuán lands.
00:03with the promise to boost the production of this mineral in Colombia.
00:07But there's a problem.
00:08They are doing it inside the Pacific forest reserve area.
00:12A place where, according to the law, mining exploration is restricted
00:16unless you have a permit issued by the Ministry of Environment.
00:19Volador Colombia, the subsidiary in the country of the Canadian mining company Andina Copper,
00:24She has owned the Cobrasco project since 2012.
00:27The mining concession covers just over 3,000 hectares and is located in Quibdó, Chocó.
00:32near Carmen de Atrato and the only copper mine that is exploited in Colombia.
00:36For 10 years, the company did not carry out any exploration activity within the mining concession.
00:43But he did try to obtain permission to do so.
00:46Volador Colombia submitted two applications to the Ministry of Environment in 2013 and 2017.
00:51so that a portion of those 3,000 hectares of the mining title would cease to be under the conservation designation
00:57of the Pacific forest reserve zone.
00:59Their objective was to install drilling platforms to search for copper in the subsoil of the mining title area
01:06and to understand the region's potential for exploiting this mineral.
01:10However, the Ministry of Environment rejected both of the company's applications for the same reason.
01:15The area where its mining title is located is very well preserved and, according to the entity,
01:21the risk of contamination of water sources, changes in forest cover, noise
01:26and other phenomena associated with the exploration project could lead to the displacement of fauna species
01:32as well as the loss of unique and important habitats for the maintenance of endemic species.
01:38After the second refusal from the Ministry of the Environment, Volador Colombia stopped insisting on the removal of the forest reserve area.
01:44But in 2022 something changed.
01:46The government of Iván Duque issued a resolution assuring that mining exploration projects
01:51that do not require forestry use, do not remove forest cover,
01:56nor cause fragmentation or degradation of forests within a forest reserve area,
02:01They no longer had to request the removal of their area to start activities.
02:05However, according to the Ministry of Environment, they were required to submit a request with information about the location.
02:11the timeline and a technical description of the work that would be carried out
02:15to determine whether or not they could conduct exploration without requesting the removal of the reserve area.
02:21When that decision was made public, Andina Cooper quickly announced to its investors
02:25through a statement that they would begin mining exploration work on the Cobrasco project.
02:30And a few months later they began to present the first results of their drilling.
02:35In 2024, the Ministry of Environment changed the rules of the game again and reversed the resolution of
02:412022.
02:42In other words, it became mandatory again to request the removal of reserve areas for exploration.
02:48That entity also told us that while the 2022 resolution was in effect,
02:53They received two applications from the company to begin exploratory activities at Cobrasco.
02:58But those two requests received the same response from the Ministry.
03:03It does not fall under the exception for carrying out mining exploration activities in forest reserve areas.
03:08Despite this, Andina Copper continues to advance exploratory copper drilling.
03:13within the Pacific forest reserve zone.
03:17In response to a questionnaire we sent them,
03:20The company assured that all activities related to its projects,
03:25including the case of Cobrasco in Colombia,
03:27They are developed within the framework of mining titles granted by the competent authority
03:32and in accordance with the authorizations and procedures established by current mining and environmental regulations.
03:39The Ministry of Environment's version is different,
03:41They claim that they have not given any authorization to Volador Colombia.
03:45to conduct mineral exploration within the Pacific forest reserve zone.
03:50However, the entity also said that they have not initiated any sanctioning process for this situation.
03:56This work is part of a journalistic alliance led by Climate Tracker Latin America
04:01and in which we participated from El Espectador.
04:03If you want to know more details about this story,
04:06Visit our environment section at www.elespectador.com
04:10And don't forget to follow us here, on all our social media.
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