Venezuelan opposition party demands environmentally friendlier mining operations
Venezuelan opposition party Encuentro Ciudadano is preparing a report aimed at informing discussions currently underway in the parliament to modify the country’s mining law.
Ecological and sustainable mining was something the [Nicolás Maduro] regime made up to justify the environmental crime that is being committed. In this sense, it is necessary to derogate the decree that created the Orinoco Mining Arch, as well as decree 2165 issued on December 30, 2015, which is a partial reform to the current Mining Law and which is biased towards the exploitation of gold, diamond and coltan,” said in a media statement César Ramírez, the party’s president in the southeastern Bolívar state, the top mining area in the country.
According to Ramírez, the development of the Orinoco Mining Arch is the biggest ecological crime ever committed in Venezuela and this is why it is urgent to create a modern mining law that allows for less-invasive and environmentally friendlier mechanisms to exploit mineral resources.
The politician said that even though the use of mercury is forbidden in the country, cyanide is widely used in gold mining operations.
Besides more ecologically conscious technology, the document to be presented demands the prohibition of extractive activities in natural areas under a special administration regime, such as national parks and protected areas. It also proposes to make mandatory the restoration, reclamation and reforestation of mine sites.
César Ramírez also said that his report brings up the idea of decriminalizing small-scale mining activities because, as things are right now, authorities tend to seize most of what artisanal miners produce and ask for bribes. In his view, it is necessary to allow them to carry and sell up to 10 grams of gold, which is basically what they extract on any given day.
“We cannot leave this in the hands of police officials because it implies giving them unlimited powers and this affects everyone,” he said.
source: Mining.com
Related News
Top News
Australia’s CEFC invests $75m in homegrown critical minerals
Glencore in talks to sell Philippine copper smelting unit
BHP seeks Brazil growth to emerge from shadow of mining disaster
Rasul Khalife Soltani, Secretary of the Iranian Steel Producers Association on the sidelines of the 1403 Steel Symposium:
Mobarakeh steel is producing green steel through scrap recycling
Norilsk Nickel plans to sell all it produces in 2025
Volkswagen buys 9.9% of Patriot Battery Metals for $48 million
India’s record gold import said to be due to calculation error
Iron ore posts weekly gain as investors assess fresh Beijing stimulus
Norge Mining acquires Europe’s largest natural graphite producer
Nickel price hits 4-year low as gloom offsets potential Indonesia cuts
Mercuria partners with Zambia on metals trading venture
Sibanye raises $500m via metals streaming deal with Franco-Nevada
Triple Flag to acquire royalty on Tres Quebradas lithium project
Volkswagen buys 9.9% of Patriot Battery Metals for $48 million
Aluminum price falls to one-month low in wider commodity slump
India’s record gold import said to be due to calculation error
Glencore in talks to sell Philippine copper smelting unit
Rio Tinto, BHP, and BlueScope to build ‘green iron’ plant
Arcadium Lithium investors sue miner over Rio Tinto takeover
Sibanye raises $500m via metals streaming deal with Franco-Nevada
Triple Flag to acquire royalty on Tres Quebradas lithium project
Volkswagen buys 9.9% of Patriot Battery Metals for $48 million
Aluminum price falls to one-month low in wider commodity slump
India’s record gold import said to be due to calculation error
Glencore in talks to sell Philippine copper smelting unit
Rio Tinto, BHP, and BlueScope to build ‘green iron’ plant
Arcadium Lithium investors sue miner over Rio Tinto takeover
Skeena advances Eskay Creek permitting, unlocks Orion funding
