Colombia to auction gold, coal and copper deposits in 2013

Maurício Cardenas, Colombia’s Mines and Energy minister, said on Monday his country expects to auction gold, coal and copper reserves for the first time next year, in a move to attract investment in energy and metals deposits. Recently, the South American nation began to benefit from the mining boom, receiving a record US$ 13.2 billion in foreign investment in 2011. The areas to be auctioned in 2013 will be “the ones where we have the best geological information”, the minister said.

Deposits of minerals such as uranium, platinum and coltan (columbite and tantalite) won’t be part of next year's auction, Cardenas said, due to the lack of knowledge about the areas.