Medellín, Colombia — On February 21, Colombia’s Army and Attorney General’s Office destroyed illegal mining equipment near the Empresas Públicas de Medellín (EPM) Porce III Hydroelectric Plant, about three hours’ drive north of Medellín.
The operation was launched in response to severe impacts on the Porce III Plant, reportedly resulting from illegal gold mining activity.
According to local newspaper El Colombiano, the illegal mining activity is believed to have commenced in October 2024, and since then, instability has increased across the Porce III reservoir slopes and surrounding riverbeds.
On February 13, EPM warned of potential flash flooding and landslides in towns downriver from the dam, including Anorí and Amalfi. El Bagre, Nechí, and Zaragoza were also identified as possible impact zones by officials.
“These activities are generating a risk scenario for the population located downstream of the Porce III discharge area and the Nechí River,” confirmed an EPM representative in a public statement.
Illegal mining poses greater risk than licensed commercial mining operations, due to an absence of regulatory practices including basic ecological and safety guidelines.
Environmental impacts span diverted river streams, mercury poisoning in water systems, and land degradation. These ecological harms have been identified across the Medellín, Porce, and Nechí rivers, and other interconnected river systems across the department.
“We are very concerned about the situation because the environmental damage being done to the river is extensive. We must take action to prevent this from happening,” said General Castaño Ramos, the Metropolitan Police Commander.
Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining (ASM) has been present across Antioquia for centuries, constituting an integral source of income for rural communities. However, environmental damage has intensified significantly due to the involvement of armed groups, who execute large-scale illegal mining to strengthen their power and income.
February’s Porce III incident is part of an escalating illegal mining crisis across Colombia. The Inspector General’s Office reported in December that 29 of Colombia’s 32 departments have illegal mining presence, and over 50% of municipalities “have suffered the ravages of this activity.”
Across the Northeast of the Antioquia department, authorities have arrested 10 individuals and raided nearly 27 mines in the region in 2025 alone.
Yet, enforcing laws in remote areas where actors operate continues to challenge authorities across the country. This is not only due to logistical factors, but community tensions over government attempts to combat illegal mining in Antioquia and across the country.
In 2024, communities protested against Decrees 1035 and 044 of the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Environment. Decree 1035 authorises the military to destroy illegal mining equipment, while Decree 044 enables the Environment Ministry to declare temporary natural resource reserves and the suspension of mining activity.
Protestors claimed that the decrees were implemented without community consultation, and threaten the livelihoods of more than 100,000 families who depend on ASM.
Further, illegal mining’s impact on Porce III could threaten the country’s energy security, according to authorities.
Porce III is the EPM’s second largest hydroelectric plant, with an installed capacity of 660 MW that claims to save 8 million barrels of oil per year. Damage to Porce III, therefore, could have catastrophic consequences for the country’s supply of renewable power.
The recent damage sustained at Porce III highlights a double bind in environmental harm—both in damage to the surrounding ecosystems, and the compromise of renewable energy generation across the country.
Featured image: Mining equipment destroyed by Colombia’s National Police. Image credit: Colombian National Police via www.policia.gov.co: https://www.policia.gov.co/noticia/acciones-contundentes-contra-mineria-ilegal-en-antioquia
