Locals Resist Canadian Firm's Plans to Exploit Andes Forests

As of October 13, 2025, a Canadian mining company, Copper Giant Resources, has been exploring the mountains near the Colombian town of Mocoa with plans to open one of the country's largest copper mines. However, the local community is staunchly opposed to the project, fearing it will destroy the region's precious ecosystems.

Mocoa sits at the edge of the Amazon rainforest, in an area known as the Cauca metallogenic belt, which is rich in minerals. For the past four years, local construction worker Pablo Portillo and his family have lived peacefully in this biodiverse "gateway to the Amazon," surrounded by lush forests, wildlife, and the Mocoa River. But now, they fear this idyllic landscape is under threat.

In recent months, residents of the nearby town of Pueblo Viejo have protested and blockaded roads to the mining exploration site, demanding the government halt the project. They argue that the use of explosives and heavy metals in copper extraction would endanger the fragile ecosystems, including protected forest reserves and water-generating páramos. The regional environmental authority has also raised concerns about the potential displacement of flora and fauna and the contamination of water sources.

While Copper Giant says the project is still in the early exploration phase, the local resistance has already forced the company to request that the mining concessions exclude the protected forest reserve areas. The national government is now reviewing the viability of the mining project, as it grapples with the tension between its goals of securing minerals for the energy transition and preserving the Amazon rainforest.