Some 60,000 workers began a protest called by the Miners of Colombia National Confederation (Conalminercol, for its acronym in Spanish) in the department of Antioquia (northwest) and other regions of the country.

The miners demanded the government to suspend the implementation of the destruction of machinery decree and clarification about the record of marketers minerals that have paralyzed gold purchases.

"The national government has failed the three agreements signed in 2011, 2012 and 2013, especially what to do with the protocol for the destruction of machinery," said the secretary general of the Conalminercol, Rubén Darío Gómez Cano.

http://www.telesurtv.net/news/Colombia-60-mil-trabajadores-se-suman-a-paro-minero-20150218-0041.html