The town of Cajamarca in Colombia held a referendum, and 98 percent of the people decided they didn't need the hassles or environmental threats of a new gold mine.  The government went ahead and approved the project anyway.

Mining Minister German Arce said the referendum was not legally binding because South African mining giant AngloGold Ashanti had already been granted a license to begin mining for gold in the area:  "Exploration licenses retain their validity," he said.

AngloGold, the world's third-largest gold producer, said it regretted the outcome of the referendum because the central Colombia region was "at risk of not receiving the benefits of well-done and responsible mining".

Sunday's referendum, now invalidated, was practically unanimous against the mine.  "I voted no for the future generations," said 21-year old student Camila Mendez.  "I have two nephews of seven and three years old.  Even though they do not live in Cajamarca, I know that I want them to enjoy the little I've been able to enjoy so far, as it concerns the countryside," she added. 

It's believed that that gold concentration of the La Colosa deposit is around 0.82 grams per ton of rocks.  That means there's going to be a huge amount of waste per gram once extraction begins.  Depleting La Colusa's gold reserves would require the blasting of 1257.27 million tons of rock.  That automatically means deforestation.

And then there's intensive use of water resources for the mine, followed by polluted drainage.  When hidden ground layers containing sulfides come into contact with water and air, the process of acidification produces very harmful metals and metalloids, such as arsenic.  

Critics aren't happy with AngloGold Ashanti's record at other projects.  The corporation had "won" the Public Eye Award in 2011, a mock award presented by Public Eye and Greenpeace to put the spotlight on companies they say put profit above the common good.  The groups accused AngloGold of contaminating land and poisoning people in Ghana.  Other activists accuse it of financing paramilitary groups in the Democratic Republic of Congo.  And a South African court recently approved a class action lawsuit for miners to seek reparations for medical expenses, damages, and loss of wages due to unhealthy labor conditions.