Illegal mining in Colombia

Illegal mining is an activity carried out in forbidden spaces, such as river banks, lagoons, fountains and buffer zones in nature reserves. But a person using heavy equipment and machinery is also considered illegal mining, and does not fall into the category of small-scale mining or artisanal mining.

Then, Decree No. 1105 defines illegal miners as "those who do not comply with the administrative, technical, social and environmental requirements of the law, or who are carried out in areas where it is prohibited." (Hernández, 2016)

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There are 95,000 hectares “totally affected” by the effects of uncontrolled extraction. Chocó (40,780 hectares), Antioquia (35,581 hectares), Bolívar (8,629) and Córdoba (5,291) have the highest levels of damage

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