The government of Gustavo Petro publicly presented the strategy. Ecodorado, an initiative aimed at transforming Colombia’s gold supply chain, combatir la minería ilegal, fortalecer la formalización minera y recuperar para el Estado los recursos asociados a esta actividad.

The strategy seeks to integrate tools such as Mining Districts, the Mining Development Fund, progress in formalization, the Gold Pact, and the transfer of two trading companies by the Special Assets Society (SAE). to the Ministry of Mines and Energy, according to the government, with the aim of consolidating a legal, traceable, and competitive gold supply chain with territorial impact.

According to the Ministry of Mines and Energy,, the strategy aims to address the illegality in the country’s gold mining sector, where it is estimated that up to 80% of the gold traded may come from informal or illegal sources.

It is important to emphasize that historically, this type of activity has financed armed groups, generating estimated annual revenues of US$8.414 billion., surpassing drug trafficking and causing losses of nearly $5 trillion in royalties each year, present in 300 municipalities across 23 departments.

“Illegal mining is not only an environmental issue: it is a national security issue. With Ecodorado, the State enters this market to compete and take those revenues away from criminal economies,” stated the Minister of Mines and Energy,

Therefore, the national government is promoting the creation of a state-owned gold trading company that will allow direct purchases from formalized small-scale miners, with the aim of increasing legal gold purchases from 5 to 15 tons per year., directly intervening in the market and redirecting resources to the territories, in order to break the cycle of miners’ dependence on illegal structures.