Ingeominas identifying coltan deposits to be concessioned in H2

Colombia's geology and mining bureau Ingeominas is defining areas with coltan deposits in order to make them special state reserves and later put them up for concession, Ingeominas director Mario Ballesteros told BNamericas. "We are currently carrying out studies in some areas of Guainia, Vaupes and Vichada departments to identify where the mineral deposits are," Ballesteros said. Ingeominas will also hire other companies to do studies and drill in other areas to gain a more precise understanding of the volume of the country's deposits, he said. Once the volume is known, the concession process will begin, according to Ballesteros, who added that this will be carried out between August and December. COMMUNITIES The works are being carried out in a way that is respectful of the regions' indigenous communities, Ballesteros said. "This is a very important issue. The new mining code requires us to work hand in hand with the environment ministry on the issue of communities," he said. In November, the Colombian government froze the nearly 300 coltan production requests pending at Ingeominas. Ballesteros said at the time that the state was going to put several coltan areas on hold in order to first figure out the most organized way to proceed and avoid the problems that can be caused by informal mining. According to Ingeominas, Colombia could have around 5% of the world's total coltan reserves. Significant amounts are believed to be in Guainia, Vaupes and Vichada. Coltan is a conductor used in electronics. Its name is an abbreviation of columbite-tantalite and once refined it can be used to increase battery life.