Minerals

Gold is one of the metals traditionally used by States to mint their coins. Due to its resistance to corrosion, it is the preferred metal in sectors such as industrial, electronics, medical, engineering, technological and jewelry. It is considered one of the most malleable and ductile metals, enabling alloys with other metals to provide hardness.

The international gold market is developed primarily in European countries, the Arab Emirates, Asia and North America. Colombia ranks 11th in the production of Gold. It is produced in the departments of Antioquia, Choco, Nariño, Cauca, Tolima and Caldas.

The most important attribute of this metal is its beauty and luminosity. It has good conductivity and heat transfer, allowing its use in the manufacture of electrical and electronic components. Its malleability is desired by the jewelers for the development of the best jewelry worldwide.

Silver is usually obtained as a byproduct of gold extraction, so its extraction is in the same Colombian departments that produce gold (Antioquia, Chocó, Nariño, Cauca, Tolima and Caldas).

Normally, it is alloyed with other metals. It is resistant to corrosion and it has good physical properties at high temperatures and good electrical properties. Platinum is not affected in industrial environments.  Which makes it very desirable in this sector. Its most widespread use is in fine jewelry but it is also used in dental crowns and as a compound for certain magnets. It is also widely used in the naval sector and as a catalyst in the oil sector.

Due to the presence of igneous rocks in the departments of Choco and Cauca, there are large Platinum deposits that offer a purity of 80%, competing in production with the United States, Canada, Russia and South Africa.

It is a black sedimentary rock that is used as a fossil fuel. The elements that compose it are: carbon, hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen and nitrogen. The most important uses of coal are: as fuel in thermal power plants, in the domestic and industrial sector, and iron and steel industry (extraction and treatment).

The extraction of coal in the Colombia is done in the following departments: La Guajira, Cesar, Cordoba, Norte de Santander, Cundinamarca, Boyaca, Antioquia, Valle del Cauca and Cauca. Each department offers different varieties of coal depending on its characteristics: humidity, ashes, calorific value and flammability. Colombian coal is recognized worldwide for having low ash and sulfur content, having high content of volatiles and calorific value.92% of Colombian coal production is sold to the United States and the rest is distributed in European countries.