Chinese mining company Zijin Mining expressed its “strong condemnation” and condolences to the families of the victims after two people died and several others were injured in an attack, on Thursday, May 18, against a gold mine they owned in the department of Antioquia.
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In a statement on its website, the company assured that it “will actively work with the Colombian police to investigate the case and bring the attackers to justice” and urged the country’s authorities to “intensify efforts to end the violence related to illegal mining and to effectively protect the legal rights and personal safety of companies investing in Colombia”.
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The mine, located in the municipality of Buriticá, suffered an attack with explosives in one of the work tunnels that resulted in the death of two company employees and several injuries, including four policemen.
Overview of the gold project in Antioquia of Continental Gold, a firm that was bought by the Chinese mining company Zijin Mining.
Representatives of the local Police assured that the judicial authorities traveled to the area to “collect probative material elements and physical evidence that will be analyzed and processed by the General Prosecutor of the Nation to establish who could have been the cause of this action”.
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Zijin Mining, which controls its subsidiary in Colombia, called Zijin mainland golddescribed the event as “a serious crime against the international mining industry” and suspended its activities in the country until the safety of the workers was guaranteed.
“This fact has the employment of more than 4,500 workers in suspense, puts mining investment and the development of economic productivity in the regions at risk,” said the Colombian Mining Association.
EFE AGENCY
