Colombian Town Votes against Huge Open-Pit Mine

Jun 22, 2017 | Michelle Begue
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In 2006, a discovery in the small Colombian town called Cajamarca would change its future. Julio Roberto Vargas a community leader of the region, said he heard the news on the local television, “through Colombian media, former president Alvaro Uribe Velez declared that one of the most important gold reserves in the world was found in Cajamarca.”

The South African mining giant AngloGold Ashanti bought the government license to make this the biggest open pit gold mine in South America, over the next decade AngloGold invested hundreds of millions into three Colombian mining projects—it calls the largest, La Colosa.

AngloGold says this mountain holds approximately 28 million ounces of gold, worth an estimated $35 billion. But to extract these riches, the mining company would have to bulldoze the mountain.