Top Colombia gold miner faces production halt amid protests
BOGOTA – Gran Colombia Gold Corp. will have to halt production by Friday if protests at its operations don’t end by then, a further headache for the Colombian government as it struggles to enforce regulations governing the country’s gold industry.
Miners operating without permits inside Gran Colombia Gold’s concession have blocked roads since Monday, preventing company workers from reaching the main mining complex, according to CEO Lombardo Paredes. The company is still producing gold from stockpiles, although these will soon run out.
“On Friday we won’t have stock if this doesn’t end,” Paredes said in a telephone interview Wednesday. “We will have to halt operations.”
Protests stem from a breakdown in talks as the Colombian government seeks to end illegal production. A stoppage later this week could prevent Gran Colombia Gold from reaching a 2016 output target of 145 000 oz to 150 000 oz of gold, Paredes said.
Investors in the miner include billionaire Frank Giustra and founders of Pacific Exploration and Production, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The company recently hired GMP Securities L.P. to carry out a strategic review that could include a sale of the company.
Gran Colombia Gold produced 116 857 oz in 2015, while Mineros SA produced 107 064 oz in Colombia. Mineros also has operations in Nicaragua.
Comments
Press Office
Announcements
What's On
Subscribe to improve your user experience...
Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):
Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):
All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors
including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.
Already a subscriber?
Forgotten your password?
Receive weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine (print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
➕
Recieve daily email newsletters
➕
Access to full search results
➕
Access archive of magazine back copies
➕
Access to Projects in Progress
➕
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA
R4500 (equivalent of R375 a month)
SUBSCRIBEAll benefits from Option 1
➕
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports on various industrial and mining sectors, in PDF format, including on:
Electricity
➕
Water
➕
Energy Transition
➕
Hydrogen
➕
Roads, Rail and Ports
➕
Coal
➕
Gold
➕
Platinum
➕
Battery Metals
➕
etc.
Receive all benefits from Option 1 or Option 2 delivered to numerous people at your company
➕
Multiple User names and Passwords for simultaneous log-ins
➕
Intranet integration access to all in your organisation