Gaviria named mining and metallurgical engineer Jorge Jaramillo as secretary of mines, a widely expected and welcomed appointment in the mining sector given Jaramillo fulfilled the same role when Gaviria was previously governor between 2004 and 2007.

The new governor also appointed Ana Ligia Mora as director of Corantioquia and Javier Parra as director of Cornare, the two autonomous regional environmental authorities in Antioquia, instructing them, "not to satanise mining," while also stipulating projects meet environmental standards, "above the legal requirements," he said during their investiture.

The first term of Gaviria as governor and Jaramillo as mining secretary saw exploration interest in Antioquia grow rapidly, as they took advantage of rising metal prices, a policy of opening Colombia to mining investment by then president Alvaro Uribe and the delegated authority to award exploration concessions

The energy and enthusiasm for exploration in Antioquia dissipated under the subsequent governorships of Sergio Fajardo and Luis Perez, which saw concession applications pile up waiting to be signed by the governor while processing times for environmental permits increased substantially.