Colombia's trade minister, Mauricio Gómez Amín, says the mining group Rio Tinto will invest $5 billion over four years in Chocó, a rainforest region on the country's Pacific coast, The Rio Times reports. He made the claim at a regional planning meeting in Barranquilla on 28 October, saying he had met the company the previous day.
The minister did not name a metal, a mine site or a start date, and linked foreign investment to security, saying President Abelardo de la Espriella was committed to regaining territorial control. The paper said it found no public statement from Rio Tinto confirming any plan for Chocó as of 3 November, and that the figure should be treated as a government claim until the company comments. Rio Tinto, listed in London and Sydney, mainly produces iron ore, copper and aluminium.
Source: The Rio Times