This historical review tries to cover from at least the time of the conquest to the present day, it tries to compile the main events that have given rise to mining development. Despite the fact that the mining spirit has not been one of the main characteristics of the Colombian people (it only emerges in regions like Antioquia due to the aridity of its territory) it seems that with the coal boom and other future markets that are awakening, mining will come to become an important sector from the economic and institutional point of view.