Illegal mining is a widespread problem whose negative consequences include pollution, destruction of local ecosystems, and hazardous working conditions, not to mention the crime itself. In Colombia, illegal mining has an even more problematic dimension: coltan (and gold) is mined to finance narco-insurgents.
The importance of “blue gold”
Coltan, short for columbite-tantalite, is a dull metallic ore; coltan ore itself hosts the minerals tantalum and niobium. Global leading producers include Australia, Brazil, Canada, and Rwanda. Demand for columbite tantalum is exceptionally high since its properties apply to the electronics industry, particularly capacitors. “Tantalum has contributed hugely to the miniaturization of handheld electronic devices such as mobile phones as it allows an electrical charge to be stored in small capacitors. For this reason alone, it’s easy to see the value coltan plays in modern life.
The Colombian government has recognized the importance of coltan and how profitable it is. The Colombian Ministry of Mining and Energy’s Resolution 18-0102/2012, passed in 2012, listed 11 minerals as “strategic interests” for Colombia, including coltan (tantalum and niobium). More recently, in early September 2022, President Gustavo Petro called for a diversification of Colombia’s mining industry. “Mining exploration and its profile would have to have another mining objective instead of looking for coal or oil. See if there is lithium, more copper, cobalt, coltan, and manganese. If there is not, other decisions must be made,” said the head of state.
Colombian experts also understand coltan’s importance and other critical minerals given the ongoing global energy transition. In a July interview for Colombia’s El Nuevo Siglo, Flover Rodríguez-Portillo, executive director of the Colombian Association of Petroleum Geologists and Geophysicists (Asociación Colombiana de Geólogos y Geofísicos del Petróleo: ACGGP) correctly noted, “We see how strategic minerals are important in the world because they supply the demand for materials that are essential for the manufacture of technology, for advances in the energy transition.” In Colombia, coltan is found in the Orinoquía region, which overlaps the Vichada and Guainía departments. The location of Guainía has regional repercussions, as we will explain in the next section.
Colombia’s conflict coltan
Coltan has achieved a “conflict mineral” status as “countries in Central Africa, including Rwanda, Uganda, and Burundi, have smuggled Congolese coltan from the DRC to fund conflicts in the region, although all countries deny that is the case.” Sadly, the situation is similar in Colombia. Specifically, criminal organizations, including narco-insurgents, are heavily involved in the illegal mining and trafficking of gold and coltan to finance their operations. This problem is well-known within Colombia but has not received sufficient international media coverage.
