Canada’s Greystar Resources (listed on London’s Alternative Investment Market) has withdrawn its request for an environmental permit for its Angostura project in the Colombian páramos of Santurbán. The company’s move seems to let the Ministry of  Environment off the hook in having to make a decision on whether to apply Colombia’s mining law, which would protect this unique biosphere. This victory is a testament to the tremendous mobilisations in Bucaramanga and other parts of Colombia in recent weeks. However, the victory may seem short lived for some people of Colombia since 12 hours after Greystar desisted from requesting an environmental license, clarified they were withdrawing this request to put in a new one for an underground mine. Of course, given the opposition already expressed to the project and the fact that an underground mine would inevitably have a major “footprint” that would threaten the paramos, albeit to a lesser extent, one would hope and expect that the Colombian government would also refuse to entertain such a “modification”.
See http://www.minesandcommunities.org/article.php?a=10796.
See also Colombia Support Network report on the project hearings at http://colombiasupport.net/2011/Greystar-Santurban-Mining-report.pdf.