Cumbitara

Cumbitara’s Small Scale Mining Association is located in the north-western region of Nariño, South Colombia, rising over the top of the Andes with magnificent views of the valleys and rivers below, placed somewhere between the Choco and the Amazon basins.  Local inhabitants have a long-held mining tradition, which today provides legitimate livelihoods and security in the fight against the threat of internal conflict.  As a non-profit association with official status granted by the Government of Nariño, Cumbitara currently comprises of 25 members, 20 men and five women. The organisation’s activities support around 630 people, processing roughly 100 metric tons of mineral per month.  The average gold content in veins nears 25 grams per metric ton so this equates to a monthly production of approximately 1.5kg of 18 carat gold. As a not-for-profit, Coodmilla is exempt of VAT and the annual payment for mining rights.

Cumbitara goes back to 1992, when a cooperative of small miners organised themselves with the objective of formalising their activities, obtaining access to explosives and applying for State funded projects.  Five years ago they changed to an Association. The organisation is open to any person who wishes to join as an associate, providing they meet various criteria, including residency in the Cumbitara area and a commitment to comply with industrial safety laws.  Associates have rights to access the Association´s services, with provision to buy explosives and an option to sell gold through the central trading body.  Members can participate in decision-making processes and general activities, enjoying complementary welfare services and affiliation to the social security system.

Each mine owner holds its own mining title, and there are diverse work arrangements. Extraction is either organised into groups of related workers or, in larger operations, hired miners work under permanent labour contracts with social security, although temporary labour is sometimes engaged on a day-to-day basis. At La Esperanza mine, the largest in Cumbitara and ARM´s pilot case, there are some 30 permanent workers, in which case, both mine owners and workers belong to the Association. The main mines associated to Cumbitara are La Esperanza, San Rafael, El Granito, El Mayo, La Sombra, La Perla and La Monja.

The Cumbitara gold veins have an average gold content of 15 grams per Metric ton of ore, and overall they process some 100 MT of ore each month. The Cumbitara gold has a purity of 18 carats and the most productive months are June and December, when production increases by 20%. Mine tunnels are built following the mineralised gold veins, and some cases wooden scaffolding is used to uphold the tunnels, but in most mines the rock is very consistent and structural support is not required.  Sterile mineral is sometimes used to fill in areas that have already been exploited, elsewhere they accumulate in the open air.  Inside the mines, electricity powers lighting and the drainage pumps, while diesel fuels the compressors for compressed air.

In the smaller mines gold is recovered through both gravimetric processes and whole ore  amalgamation, a situation that will change as more mines enter certification.  At “La Esperanza” there is no whole ore amalgamation, concentrates are amalgamated with mercury in a controlled way, using retorts.  However, La Esperanza are now working to eliminate mercury and implement a responsible leaching process similar to the one used in Bella Rica (Ecuador – see profile), to enhance gold recovery and reduce environmental impact.

Smelting is carried out in model foundry and refinery installed by UNESCO, CORPONARIÑO, and the municipality of Cumbitara.  Each associate smelts with his own supplies and crucibles, but use of the installation and equipment is free for associates.  The gold produced is then bought by local traders, who in turn sell on to national and international intermediaries from Cali and Medellín (Colombia) and Tulcán (Ecuador which is nearby).  Miners are responsible for paying 4% of the gold price to the State in royalties.  When selling directly to a formalised buyer, such buyer is obliged to declare royalties to the municipality where gold was produced and therefore discounts this amount from the price paid to the miner.  In other cases, control on the origin is lost as the gold passes from hand to hand to be declared in another Colombian municipality or even in Ecuador, which is very close to this region.

The cooperative has identified its main technological needs to enhance production being: a geological exploration to define reserves; improving clean processing and gold recovery through the implementation of more Chilean mills and ball mills; gravimetric concentration with spirals and jigs; education on and implementation of better environmental restoration techniques; finding alternatives to reduce and better manage tailings; improve smelting and refining capacity; and further miner training to create a culture of permanent learning and environmental care. 

Key environmental challenges in becoming certified include ecological restoration, management of groundwater, wastewater treatment and channelling to tailings dams to reduce AMD, and finding alternative uses for residual sands.  An experiment is underway to sell such sands as building material. 

For Cumbitara Association to be financially sustainable, the associates pay a token monthly fee of US$1 for the right to exploit their work fronts although the cooperative will require further investment and expenses to manage the whole certification process. The organisation needs to widen its current strengths beyond technical skills, such as solidarity economy and cooperative arrangements, self-esteem, team work and the management of the free time, especially for youths through strengthening and promoting existing organisations for recreation and improving opportunities for women in the supply chain. In particular they want to improve the existing jewellery workshop. A certification premium would contribute to all these goals.

In labour terms, the cooperative needs to further formalise relationships with workers by establishing work contracts that set out clear rights and obligations, affiliating workers to the social security system (for health, pension and occupational hazards) and complying with the minimum industrial safety regulations.  In addition, the organisation wants to develop a mining rescue station and an "APELL" strategy (Awareness and preparedness for emergencies at local level).

The region is a national example for the adoption of clean production technologies thanks to strategic alliances between the environmental authority, the university, the cooperative and the municipality. Cumbitara Association existes within a complex context of armed conflict, where traditional mining communities seek to sustain livelihoods that offer a real alternative to the cultivation of illicit plants like coca and poppies.  The  miners from Cumbitara are a tenaceous people who insist on peace-building, while they help to preserve this region of natural wealth and plentiful water sources, which used to be the Northernmost tip of the Inca Empire in Precolumbian times.