A New Bet on Formalization
Mining in the West of Boyacá
For decades, Western Boyacá was the territory where women and men dedicated their days to informal mining, submitted to hostile conditions, hoping to be lucky enough to find an emerald that would change their lives and lift them out of poverty.
In 2009, with the arrival of Minería Texas Colombia (now Esmeraldas Mining Services, EMS) began a process of transformation, modernization and formalization of mining activity in the region, bringing development, security, formal employment and responsible extraction of emeralds. However, the long years of artisanal exploitation left a culture of informality in the territory that still prevails in the area and exposes the life of the miners, who continue to develop unsafe practices seeking to find the precious green mineral.
As part of the commitment of The Muzo Companies Colombia to generate sustainability in the region andaiming to eliminate these practices that affect the environment and harm the health of the people who practice it, the first PyMineras mining formalization project has been designed, where through an Association of Artisanal Miners of Muzo and Quípama, legally established with the support of the municipal mayors, it is intended to develop formal sustainable mining works in one of the titles without production currently granted to the Muzo companies.
This strategic alliance will allow the exploration and extraction of emeralds by informal miners who will join the association (future small-enterprise), going to formal employment, with safe working conditions, in accordance with current labor legislation, with specialized teams and with the technical and professional suppervision of The Muzo Companies Colombia, which, in addition to donating capital for the starting of this project, will be constant allies and responsible for community and environmental social sustainability initiatives, payment of taxes, royalties, among others legal provisions, as part of its agreement to the National Mining Agency, ANM.
Like the inclusion of women in mining extraction processes, as a milestone of the transformation towards formality led by Esmeraldas Mining Services, EMS, this new project is a pioneer in the region and in the field of the emerald industry. Its execution is projected to begin during the last quarter of 2022 and the company hopes that with the support of the Association, this initiative will be strengthened so that it can be self-sustaining and allow the informal mining that for years left indelible marks on the country to be forgotten, serving as an example to be replicated in the region, seeking to establish a network of formal mining small-companies that promote progress, professional opportunities, development, wealth, safe, responsible mining extraction and a more promising future of life for the inhabitants of the Western Boyacá.
