Artisanal Gold Council promotes responsible artisanal mining in ExpoTambo

The Artisanal Gold Council (AGC) participated in ExpoTambo 2024, held in the department of Cauca (Colombia) in the municipality of El Tambo, with the aim of establishing a closer relationship with artisanal miners and promoting the use of environmentally friendly technologies.

Its goal is to eliminate the use of mercury in gold processing and to promote sustainable and economically viable alternatives for this industry. Mercury, a toxic metal commonly used in artisanal mining, poses a high environmental and health risk to mining communities and their surroundings; the organization's presence at this event aims to mitigate these negative effects and offer innovative solutions.

During ExpoTambo, the mercury-free gold processing technology "HELICOIDAL CONE CONCENTRATOR" was presented, which is efficient, environmentally friendly and economically accessible to small-scale miners. These technologies allow miners to achieve yield benefits without resorting to harmful practices, improving both the productivity and sustainability of their operations.

The organization had the opportunity to be interviewed by channels such as Radio 1040 AM of Popayán…. "...We continue with more guests, engineer David López, from Artisanal Gold Council (AGC Colombia), tell me how it has gone for you- David López: We are a Canadian organization that has been encouraging artisanal miners to change all the ways they work with mercury and to give them other alternatives. At this moment the project is donated by the United States Department of State, that is why we are here in El Tambo... Our goal is to change the miners' mentality about working with mercury by bringing them economically profitable technological alternatives for artisanal miners...".

LOCAL INITIATIVES

ExpoTambo 2024 served as a stage to publicize the "Technical Improvements and Training for Mercury-Free Gold Extraction in Colombia" project, an initiative launched in 2023 and supported by the Mayor's Office of El Tambo and the Cauca Regional Autonomous Corporation (CRC). This project aims to improve the quality of life of artisanal miners in the Cauca region by implementing safer practices and reducing the environmental impact of artisanal mining.

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The organization has a joint working relationship with the Director of the Cauca Regional Autonomous Corporation (Amarildo Correa), the Mayor of El Tambo (José David Montenegro), the Secretary of Agricultural, Mining and Environmental Development of the Municipality (Ariel Montenegro) and the person in charge of mining activities, the engineer (Iván Samboní), with whom ideas and opinions are shared on all the environmental and health problems that exist due to artisanal mining, for the development of projects in the department and in the country.

EXPECTED OUTCOMES AND LONG-TERM VISION

The expected impact of the project is a significant reduction in the use of mercury in artisanal mining in Cauca, along with increased education on the impacts of using this metal and sustainable practices on local biodiversity. It is expected that by 2025, the majority of artisanal miners in the department will be using mercury-free technologies, and that the region will become a model of responsible mining for other areas of Colombia and Latin America.

The synergy between these entities strengthens the commitment to move towards fairer, cleaner and more productive mining in Cauca, benefiting both local communities and the environment.

Contact with artisanal miners

ExpoTambo 2024 was undoubtedly a crucial meeting point for cooperation between international organizations such as the Artisanal Gold Council, local authorities and artisanal miners.