By Harvey Beltrán

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The Colombian government hopes to see the nation become one of Latin America's principal mining countries by 2019 and in order to accomplish that goal, it has outlined a game plan and decided which strategies it will follow.

With a solid legal framework and security along with the proper tax conditions and macroeconomics needed for a healthy mining industry, the stage is set for sector development.

The mining director of the country's ministry of mines and energy (Minminas), Beatriz Duque, spoke with BNamericas about Colombia's game plan, the government's strategies for attracting investors and other sector issues.

BNamericas: What is Colombia's outlook for mining development?

Duque: We feel that the decisions made by the governments of Ecuador, Venezuela and Bolivia are generating some very big opportunities for Colombia in terms of developing mining potential.

We are working very hard on that. We are setting out to take all of the necessary steps to correct our historical errors and I think we are on the right path. We're working very hard.

BNamericas: What strategies has the government developed in that sense?

Duque: We basically identified three areas that are fundamental and we have a specific strategy for each one of those.

The first area is institutionalism. We want the public sector institutionalism of mining to be very effective and, to accomplish that, we have three pillars of action. One is a regulatory system, another is the issue of organizational structure and the last is the issue of information and communication technologies.

For the first pillar, we are working to modify the mining code and we are performing some studies with environmental authorities to get on the same page on the issue of consistency in mining areas due to the great biodiversity in our country that has the possibility for economic mining development.

That issue is very important to us because Colombia is a country with a high degree of biodiversity that we must learn about and protect.

For the second pillar - organizational structure - we're reorganizing [Colombia's geology and mining bureau] Ingeominas, the ministry and [the country's mining and energy planning unit] UPME in order to strengthen Ingeominas and the ministry of mines and energy.

For the third pillar regarding technology, Colombia's mining registry is scheduled to go into effect and we are also working to expand it by adding new areas and processes.

BNamericas: What other areas are you working on?

Duque: Another issue is small-scale mining. We recognize that small and mid-scale mining in the country calls for much more state intervention and we recognize that a lot of illegal mining happens in our territory. In order to combat illegal activities, we created a control strategy where we act in cooperation with the comptroller, the attorney general, mayors, the environmental ministry, Ingeominas and the ministry.

We're working intensely on this issue, not only to show authorities where their responsibilities lie in mining issues - since illegal activities are not the sole responsibility of the ministry - but we are also working to make illegal mining a court matter so that it comes to an end someday.

But on the other hand, we also want to make small and mid-sized miners stronger and we are working hard on a management model for mining districts that aims to identify mining regions to be called mining districts.

On that front we are planning a participatory strategy so that all of those regions can contribute to the vision of Colombian mining. With all of that, Colombia hopes to become one of the most important mining countries in Latin America.

BNamericas: How do mining districts operate?

Duque: The strategy of a mining district is carried out in participatory workshops in the areas with mining activity. So the idea is not to reach out to communities because a big miner is moving in but simply because mining exists there and we need mining to contribute to local development in an integral way.

That is a strictly participatory task and it's nice because it is a social effort on our part and very interesting.

BNamericas: Are there other areas of focus?

Duque: Yes, financing is another area. You have to understand that there are capital markets in the world and that we can also develop a market to observe how it's done and how to generate a better information exchange, something that is generally rare. Here, the government wants to make the information available to everyone so that a lot of people can access it and make use of it.

BNamericas: You mentioned a "vision of Colombian mining." What's that initiative about?

Duque: That's another strategy that has more to do with big investments and it's to promote what we call Colombian Mining.

First, we have already designed a logo for Colombian Mining and the slogan is 'Colombian Mining, Responsible Development.' The message we are sending is that we do want mining in Colombia, but we want mining that is developed under the highest ethical, environmental and technical standards where companies are socially responsible and concerned about industrial health and safety issues while respecting our culture and unique qualities.

We also have a new website with relevant information for investors, which is www.simco.gov.co, where you can find an updated guide to mining investment and there are statistics and much more information.

In general, we are working to improve the image of mining in order to show how we are as a country.

BNamericas: Ingeominas announced that Colombia's register of mining areas would go into effect in the first half of 2008. Will it meet that deadline?

Duque: Ingeominas chose July 1 as the date for Colombia's mining registry to go into effect. We have a lot of confidence in the project and hope that we don't have any complications this time. The last time we tested the system, which didn't work, we found several errors and since mid-2007 to the present date, we have been correcting the errors so the system - which is very interesting - can operate.

BNamericas: There has been some controversy about relocating the town of Marmato in Caldas department where the company Colombian Goldfields Limited - which owns Compañía Minera de Caldas - is being blamed for affecting the land near the town. What is happening with that situation?

Duque: Relocation doesn't really have anything to do with the company's operations. It was suggested several years ago that the city center be relocated basically because of geological instability so a territorial reorganization plan proposed that the city be moved.

The idea of city removal is evidenced in government documents and the decision was made before the company arrived in the zone. There is a relocation plan headed by the interior ministry in collaboration with the ministries of environment and mining. There are several organizations involved.

The issue has been manipulated politically and you can't place the blame on the company. The reality is entirely different.

Besides, the fact that a mining company is there could be a major help during the process of relocating the city of Marmato.

Regarding that, we are going to hold a debate with congress and we have prepared all of the arguments needed to demonstrate that - regardless of whether a Canadian company is working in the zone - we have all of the technical and geological arguments to prove that it is necessary to move the town.

BNamericas: Some time ago, Anglo-Australian company Rio Tinto said that the Morales and Cajibío areas of Cauca department were a priority for bauxite exploration this year. What does your office know about that project?

Duque: They might be the best ones to give the details of that project. We don't have any detailed information on the issue.

What I can tell you is that several companies are performing aggressive exploration in different parts of Colombia and it is surely going to bear fruits in the very near future.

BNamericas: How is the proposal to modify the mining code coming along?

Duque: Today [Wednesday, May 21] is the second debate.

BNamericas: Are discussions on track?

Duque: Right now we are facing a difficult situation in congress but that is an issue that doesn't only affect us. It affects all of the bills in congress.

BNamericas: What sort of situation?

Duque: It deals with the para-political scandal and the number of congress members involved [who are accused of backing paramilitary groups] so congress is focusing more on that issue than on legislative issues and that has made it a little more difficult to push this bill and many others.

BNamericas: What is the situation with AngloGold Ashanti at its La Colosa project after Tolima's department regulator Cortolima ordered works suspended because of environmental issues?

Duque: The company is now taking care of a formality that it should have dealt with previously regarding environmental issues.

BNamericas: Has the company halted activities while it is taking care of this procedure?

Duque: I understand that it has stopped works for a while.

ABOUT THE ENTITY:Colombia's ministry of mines and energy (Minminas) is responsible for carrying out national policies regarding exploration, mining, transport, refining, processing, benefits, fabrication and distribution of minerals and hydrocarbons.

The ministry focuses on activities to develop companies in the mining and energy sectors to guarantee the sustainable development of natural resources.

It also adopts development plans in the country's mining-energy sector in parallel to the general development plans and macroeconomic policies followed by the national government.

By Harvey Beltrán