Abstract

HUERFANO-AGUILAR, Sebastián. Extractivism, steel and the environment: Acerías Paz del Río and the industrial boom in the Sogamoso Valley (Boyacá - 1954-1983). Anu.hist.reg.front. [online]. 2023, vol.28, n.1, pp.207-240.  Epub Dec 16, 2022. ISSN 0122-2066.  https://doi.org/10.18273/revanu.v28n1-2023008.

In September 1954, Acerías Paz del Río began industrial steel production in the Sogamoso Valley (Boyacá), a Colombian high plateau at an altitude of 2,500 meters above sea level. The steel industry was established on this high plateau after the discovery of extensive and exploitable iron and coal deposits nearby, in the towns of Paz de Río and Socha (Boyacá). The exploitation of these materials and the production of steel transformed an eminently rural region, dedicated to agricultural activities, into the iron and steel and mining center of Colombia. This article explores the social, productive, and ecological impact of Acerías Paz del Río, the industry, and mining in the Sogamoso Valley, in the face of this boom between 1954 and 1983.

Keywords : Sogamoso Valley; Acerías Paz del Río; mining; steel; Chicamocha river; pollution.

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