Jul 08, 2020 · With the Buriticá gold mine expected to become operational in the second half of 2020, Zijin Mining is close to becoming the first Chinese mining company to operate in Colombia. Interest stems from the fact that China is the country with the highest gold demand in the world, buying 1,003 tonnes in 2019. Buriticá, some 100 kilometres from second city Medellín, is one of the few significant gold mines in Colombia, a country where successive governments have tried to promote mining