A workshop to understand how mining works, what drives its expansion, and why we need to move towards futures free from mining.
The first part will introduce the main mineral extraction and processing techniques, their impacts, and why continually scaling up extraction remains the prevailing approach within the current system. It will examine how this expansion generates increasingly severe social and environmental conflicts.
Liz and Carolina will then share the situation in Falan (Tolima, Colombia) in the face of proposed gold and silver mining projects, including Santa Ana. They will discuss the defence of water, biodiversity and food production, alongside community organising and proposals to exercise the right to decide the territory’s future.
The final part will explore alternatives such as secondary mining and forms of production and consumption that are less dependent on mineral extraction. It will address the need for a systemic transformation of production and consumption that reduces reliance on non-renewable resources and enables futures free from mining.
14:00–14:15 Welcome and introduction
14:15–14:45 Mining: how it works, why it expands and the conflicts it generates
14:45–14:55 Questions
14:55–15:40 With Liz and Carolina: Falan and the community’s proposals
15:40–15:50 Questions
15:50–16:05 Alternatives: towards futures free from mining
16:05–16:15 Final questions and closing remarks
