Gold Mining in Northeast Antioquia: A Territorial Dispute over Development

The objective of this article is to characterize the environmental conflict that takes place in the municipalities of Segovia and Remedios -located in Northeast Antioquia, Colombia- since there are simultaneously large-scale mining projects (promoted by the national government), and small-scale gold-mining operations (which have traditionally occurred). The convergence of these extractivist models has exacerbated social conflicts between local, private, institutional and illegal armed actors; it fosters violent processes of accumulation by dispossession, political persecution, and systematic violation of human rights; as well as problems associated with a deficit in health, education, social investment, and employment, which are enhanced in parallel with the deterioration of local ecosystems.