An emblematic industry in Colombia since pre-colonial times, gold mining has taken on much more economic and political importance with the rise of gold prices over the last decade. The country’s estimated $20 billion in untapped gold reserves has attracted foreign mining companies, among them several from Canada. But poor families as well have flocked to artisanal mines, digging gold crudely out of mountains or panning and sluicing for it in rivers in hopes of striking it rich. In the spirit of gold rushers everywhere and throughout history, they see gold mining as a path to a better life, one of the few economic shortcuts open to Colombia’s poor.<\/p>\n
Thus the mining boom has also led to complex human rights conflicts, which are the subject of\u00a0Marmato<\/em>, a\u00a0beautifully filmed documentary by Mark Grieco. Shot over a seven-year period, the film portrays local artisanal miners in the town of Marmato in northwestern Antioquia province who resist the arrival of a corporate behemoth, Canada-based Gran Colombia Gold.<\/p>\n In one corner are the poor miners who scratch out livelihoods every day amid risk and back-breaking labour, and who feel they have a natural right to the shiny ore they find. In the other is the modern, Toronto-based concern that bought up 80 percent of the land titles in and around Marmato, with a plan to replace them with a huge and more efficient open-pit mine. The economies of scale at the new mine meant many poor miners would lose their jobs and forced many Marmato residents to relocate to make room for the open pit.<\/p>\n