In the face of rifts over securitization issues and calls for conservation, Aris Mining intends to launch the Soto Norte mine in Santander, Colombia, in 2029.

Lital Khaikin, NACLA

"Do you see the mountain over there? That mountain is going to disappear. One day, a machine will come and eat the mountain.” Mayerly López, an activist with the collective Comité Santurban, recounted the words of late artisanal mining activist Mariluz Lizcano, who stirred López into lifelong environmental activism. Lizcano was referring to the Canadian mining company Eco Oro, which was preparing to dig into the Santurbán páramo (moorland) in 2009 to develop the Angostura gold and silver mine. López was still in high school when she confronted the question: what will happen to the mountain?

Today, the mining project Soto Norte, owned by the Canadian company Aris, is stirring up another hornet’s nest amid urgent calls for the conservation of Colombia’s biodiversity, social rifts, and claims that criminal organizations are infiltrating the páramo. 

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