The National Mining Agency restores mining zone ZRP 736

The National Mining Agency revoked Resolution VPF-2088 of June 4, 2026, and reinstated the Reserved Zone with Potential ZRP 736, covering 67.0469 hectares in the municipalities of California and Vetas (Santander), in order to formalize 47 small-scale miners. The measure is contained in Resolution number VPF-3858 of 2026, signed on September 30 by the Acting Vice President of Promotion and Development, Hernán José Sierra Montes, and published in Official Gazette number 53,645 on October 1, 2026.

The decision is based on numerals 1 and 3 of article 93 of Law 1437 of 2011 (CPACA), which order the revocation of administrative acts that are manifestly contrary to the law or that cause unjustified grievance to a person. The ANM concluded that Resolution VPF-2088 omitted the mandate of paragraph 1 of article 5 of Law 2250 of 2022, which requires the validation of the presence of traditional and small-scale miners in reserved zones with potential before adopting substantive decisions regarding the area.

ZRP 736 integrates blocks 733, 734, 735, and 736, totaling 1,747.9614 hectares, which were reserved through Resolution VPPF number 058 of May 23, 2022, within the jurisdiction of California, Vetas, and Suratá, over the area of concession contract number 3452 of Eco Oro Minerals Corp. Colombia Branch, liquidated on December 30, 2020.

The arguments for the revocation

Technical Concept VPF 23 of February 9, 2026, had recommended releasing the entire area due to technical, environmental, and legal infeasibility. Among the cited factors are:

Access tunnels to the deposit executed by Eco Oro Minerals and overlapping with the páramo zone, intercepted by unauthorized third parties.
Pending environmental obligations of the former holder, relating to the PCDA requested by the National Environmental Licensing Authority (ANLA).
Mining infrastructure without closure, with active physical and chemical instability.
Seismic threat, mass movements, and steep slopes.
Risk of acid mine drainage in an environment of high water sensitivity.
Proximity to the Santurbán páramo, recognized as a subject of rights.

The ANM maintained that this concept ignored the Territorial Context Analysis Report number 01-2025 of April 30, 2025, which proposed formalization alternatives, including the division of the polygon to reserve 40.23 hectares in the southern part, where there is no evidence of exploitation.

What the resolution orders

Fully revoke Resolution VPF-2088 of June 4, 2026.
Recapture the ZRP Block 736 polygon, identified with ID 1183, with an area of 67.0469 hectares in Santander, in the Integrated Mining Management System (SIGM).
Communicate the decision to the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development and manage the exclusion of the polygon from the temporary Renewable Natural Resource Reserve Zone.
Comply with paragraph 1 of article 5 of Law 2250 of 2022 regarding the formalization of small-scale and traditional miners.
Inform the ANLA.

The resolution takes effect upon its publication in the Official Gazette.

The underlying conflict

The Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development declared the temporary Renewable Natural Resource Reserve Zone on the western side of the Santurbán massif through Resolution number 0221 of March 3, 2025, corrected by Resolution number 0239 of March 6, 2025, in the municipalities of Suratá, Matanza, California, Vetas, Charta, Tona, and Bucaramanga. That act expressly excluded block ZRP-736 and enabled it only for the formalization of small-scale and traditional mining.

Resolution number 0970 of August 4, 2026, subsequently incorporated the polygon into the effective area of the reserve, which totaled 75,432.42 hectares, and extended its validity until March 4, 2029. On August 14, 2026, the National Mining Cadastre and Registry Group deregistered the polygon; on August 28, the Socio-Environmental Group reported 47 informal small-scale miners who expressed their interest in formalization between April 1 and November 20, 2025. The Association of Traditional Miners of El Silencio (Asomineros) had reiterated its request via filing 20251003723492 of February 12, 2025, with five mine shafts: Carretero 1, Carretero 2, Carretero 3, Carretero 4 (Sub Level), and El Diviso.

With this revocation, the ANM reopens the door to the formalization of 47 traditional miners in a 67-hectare polygon located next to the Santurbán páramo, one of the most disputed ecosystems in the country. The decision does not authorize new mining activity: it mandates the processing of formalization under Law 2250 of 2022 and the exclusion of the area from the temporary reserve, in a balance still pending between the legalization of ancestral mining and the protection of the páramo.

Source: Official Gazette of Colombia, number 53,645 of October 1, 2026, section I, page 44 (official reference: Resolution number VPF-3858 of 2026).