Government plans the placement of concrete plugs in tunnels and galleries in Zaruma

The remediation plan for the urban area of ​​Zaruma includes the construction and placement of concrete plugs in the existing tunnels and galleries in the city to prevent the entry of illegal miners, revealed the Minister of Energy and Non-Renewable Resources, Juan Carlos Bermeo. Caps that will have a dimension of 3.60 square meters, with a thickness of one meter.

The official who appeared before the Biodiversity Commission of the National Assembly said that on the mining issue in Zaruma there is a lot of scattered information, so it is necessary to compile everything that exists around the mining problem.

On the other hand, the Minister of Government, Alexandra Vela, spoke of the need for reforms to the Mining Law for the illicit exploration of mineral materials, the illicit exploitation of minerals, the possession and transport of mercury, sanctions against public servants that allow this type of activities and the financing and supply of machinery for illegal activities.

The tunnels in Zaruma have been known since 1993, according to sectional authorities

According to Bermeo, prior to the placement of the plugs, it is necessary to have technical studies on the quality of the soil, since the problem of the city is that there are enormous depths, since it is said that there would be galleries ranging from 120 to 180 meters deep that would have to be filled and in other cases plugged to prevent the entry of illegal miners. And as if to get an idea of ​​the depth, added the secretary, it is like putting two football stadiums one above the other in depth.

For all this remediation process the support of technicians is needed, for this, at the moment it has the assistance of the Army Corps of Engineers and experts in geology from the Central University of Ecuador, who have carried out studies and have proposed some alternatives to solve the problem.

Around the sinkhole of December 15, Bermeo reported, it is 30 meters deep, and the soil condition has been defined to allow remediation works and guarantee the stability of the surrounding soil in the area. Work has been carried out to control water, intercept sewage and review the neighboring houses.

He said that it can be determined that in a house near the current sinkhole it was evidenced that it was abandoned and was the entry point for illegal miners. The abandoned house was a facade and was used for illegal jobs, which deserve full criminal sanction, he stressed.

In the removal of debris from the sinkhole, they find new illegal mining tunnels in the center of Zaruma

The technical work established, added the official, will allow the implementation of control systems, since settlements, displacement of cracks, movements of the soil mass have to be measured; and with remote sensors it will be possible to take early alerts.

At the moment, he insisted, a geophysical survey has been made through the use of topography and georadars.

He explained that the caverns built by the mining companies are between 60 and 80 meters long by 40 meters high, and the illegal miners have developed excavation and communication technologies between galleries that allow them to know the condition of the soil.

Juan Carlos Bermeo indicated that one of the solutions that would be applied is the construction of reinforced concrete plugs to prevent the entry of illegal miners, and the first one being built is 3.60 meters wide by 3.60 meters high, with a thickness of one meter, it is almost like a bunker to be placed, he said.

He announced that until March 2022, the ministry under his charge will develop a technological tool with financing from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), for $ 57 million, which will allow the control of the management of mining titles that must be granted in a manner modern, agile and above all avoid manipulation and interference in the mining cadastre. All this process will lead to granting permits for the operation of artisanal mining.

Mining reforms

The Minister of Government, Alexandra Vela, proposed to the National Assembly a coordinated work to face the illegal mining issue, and for this she said that work should be done on reforms to the Mining Law in order to provide greater instruments to carry out an effective control in protected areas.

In addition, he said that reforms are needed to control the use of mercury in illegal mining activity, because at the moment there is no regulation that allows the government to act.

If some of these legal provisions can be introduced within the reform process, Vela added, preventive and even health-related actions can be taken, because the use of mercury by illegal miners accumulates in the human body and not There is a possibility of reversing it, it ends up poisoning the person when it reaches the limit.

He raised the need for a dialogue with the legislature to carry out reforms to the Mining Law that would allow better control over money laundering, the illicit exploration of mineral materials, the illicit exploitation of minerals, the possession and transportation of mercury , sanctions against public servants that allow this type of activity and the financing and supply of machinery for illegal activities.

He said that at the moment the evaluation of what was done in the course of the year is being carried out, but that it was detected that the phenomenon of illegal mining spreads throughout the country and is becoming more and more important, within the activities of a nature. illegal, since this activity is transformed through related crimes and with connections in some cases of money laundering that come from drug trafficking and an activity of a criminal nature. These activities should be attacked immediately, he said.

Vela commented that the country needs to carry out mining activity, but that activity must have limits and cannot be carried out in protected areas, nor can it be carried out within the limits of protection areas.

Mining concessions

Throughout the country there are 5,999 mining concessions, of which 51% correspond to artisanal mining, 25% to small mining, 14% to industrial mining and 12% free use, according to official information presented by the Ministry of Government to the Biodiversity Commission.

The operations against illegal mining at the national level in 2021 determined the apprehension of offenders, the dismantling of criminal organizations dedicated to this crime and the impact on their logistics, in coordination with the competent authorities.

19 criminal groups were dismantled, there were 197 arrests, 23 firearms, 2,051 explosives and 338 ammunition were seized, 258 tons of mineralized material, 113 operations were carried out against illegal mining. In 2021, it was increased to 110 police officers specialized in mining crimes.

The legislative board will call again the government, environment and energy functions, to continue with the inspection process regarding remediation actions in the Zaruma canton. (I)