THE SANTURBAN MOOR MINING CASE

Camilo Jos Rodrguez Carvajal Elver Santos Ros

Industrial University of Santander Faculty of Physicochemical Engineering Metallurgical Engineering School Bucaramanga, Santander, Colombia 2013

MINING, THE SANTURBAN MOOR CASE

MINING, THE SANTURBAN MOOR CASE Attending to a growing market of disposable goods in which minerals are primary materials mining has become a worldwide problem destroying our natural resources in ways that cannot be repaired. The contamination created by the mining activity attack the environment in different ways: acoustic pollution, chemical dust, mining dumps, explosives and a lot of smoke are introduced in vast amounts every day to the zone around the mine being accumulated by the soil, water, air and by the animals and plants through the food chain. Mining requires the use of dangerous chemicals which after being introduced in the ecosystem destroy its equilibrium .Chemicals like cyanide, arsenic, sulfuric acid, lead, cadmium and other heavy metals that are sub products of the mining activity cause several diseases in human beings that can be grouped in five general categories: morphologic changes in the tissues (cancer, osteoporosis), changes in the physiology and coordination (ataxia, hemochromatosis), changes in the biochemistry of the body (hepatic insufficiency), disorders of behavior and disorders of reproduction (teratogens, infertility, mutation) Worldwide water reserves are being contaminated. The worst example is the Amazon basin the reserve that contains 16% of the drinking water enough to supply the entire population (6 billion people) for 200 years. It is being continually contaminated by mining activity regardless of the state control exerted by Latin-American governments In general these state controls are highly inefficient with significant rates of corruption, absence and negligence [1] Colombia is not the exception, around the country mining activity continue its expansion as a pandemic disease and is strongly promoted by the governments with the excuse of economic progress in spite of the following negative outcomes: forced displacement of local communities, the extinction and displacement of local species, expropriation of national heritage by outsiders, the loss of added value by producing just source materials and as mentioned before, extreme environmental damage.

MINING, THE SANTURBAN MOOR CASE Moors are ecosystems rich in endemic fauna and flora, the term endemic means that this species only exist in these places. Moor ecosystem is extremely fragile and cannot be

restored by making a well-structured and mine closing plan, no matter how strict the ore company claims to be, mining would unbalance moor ecosystem changing the predatorprey dynamics, generating extinction and over-population of different species ecosystems presents just in small part of the world and specifically just in Latin America in the countries: Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Venezuela, Costa Rica and in minor proportion in Panama. The 49% of the moors of the planet are located at Colombia, its surface ascend to an amount minor of two million of hectares 1,7% of the national territory .The case of Santurban Moors in particular delicate and must me prevent and stop, Santurban Moor is an strategically zone as a natural reserve and as most important source of water for departments Santander and North of Santander besides is the principal affluent to Maracaibos lake at Venezuela, and several national rivers like Lebrija, Pamplonita and Zulia. Providing drinkable water for 70% of the Colombian population located at the Andes Mountains and valleys; 3.2 million people in the two departments (1.243.975 at Santander [3] and 1.957.789 at north of Santander at 2005 [4]), nowadays the number should have increase and every single person would be affected directly or indirectly if the mining license is approved or the delimitation of moor is changed Delimitation of Santurban Moor covers an area of more than 37.000[4] hectares and is in conflict with several mining titles exercised by companies and independent miners at the Soto Norte province in the municipalities: Charta, Matanza, Surata, Tona, Vetas and California, according to Richard Aguilar Governor of Santander the 95% of population (28.000 habitants) in this province is dedicated to the mining activity and 60% of the mining district of California is inside the delimitation made by the Alexander VonHumboldt institute at the year 2004. Arguing strikes for the right of work by this sector of the department and a tradition of more than 400 years the governor requests the head of the Colombian govern, the president Juan Manuel Santos the concordance between the process of delimitation and the national natural park Santurban in order to recognize and respect through a process of micro-zoning , the protection of the hydric sources and the
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MINING, THE SANTURBAN MOOR CASE moor[6] with that petition the surface of the moor Santurban would reduce to a surface of just 11.700 hectares reducing its amount in more than 68.38 %, Several examples of corruption are shown every day in Colombia: narcotic-corruption, paramilitary-corruption, guerrilla-corruption and a new category multinational mining companies-corruption. Prove of this is the indignant case exposed by Senator Jorge Robledo [7] in which BHP Billiton named in Colombia as Cerromatoso through functionaries of the interior minister made 66 arrangements with local Wayu communities offering goats, cows and construction material in exchange for the damage of the mining activity, it is an international shame that our compatriot can be fool this way and with complicity of a national minister. That case and the request made by Richard Aguilar present governor of Santander son of the ex-governor jailed for paramilitary-corruption are just the tip of the iceberg corruption in Colombian society and shows the inability and the lack of intention of the Colombian government to execute any respectable and responsible control over the mining activity and In the other hand a clear intention to promote the locomotive mining in a legal or illegal way. . Perhaps mineral extraction is necessary for human development; however, the costs of the extraction are too high, without the possibility of a more responsible mining and better state control, mining perpetuation at Santurban moor must be denied, consequently stopping water sources poisoning, soils infertility, forced displacement, genetic malformations, terminal illnesses and massive extinction.

MINING, THE SANTURBAN MOOR CASE REFERENCES

[1]http://www.ecologiahoy.com/reservas-de-agua-dulce-en-el-mundo [2]http://problemasrurales.files.wordpress.com/2008/12/compilacion-el-caso-desanturban.pdf [3]http://www.dane.gov.co/files/investigaciones/poblacion/ITMoDto1985_2005/Santander. xls [4]http://www.dane.gov.co/files/investigaciones/poblacion/ITMoDto1985_2005/NortedeSa ntander.xls [5]http://www.rcnradio.com/noticias/gobernador-de-santander-revive-polemica-por-zonasmineras-en-santurban-89378 [6]http://es.scribd.com/doc/168206553/167757459-Cart-a-Richard-Aguilar-San-Turban [7]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5AmUl18pejI