According to data from the Ministry of National Mines of Colombia, in 2020, Colombia’s coal production fell by 40% year-on-year, from 82.4 million tons in 2019 to 49.5 million tons, mainly due to the new crown pneumonia epidemic and the three-month strike.
Colombia is the fifth largest coal exporter in the world. In 2020, due to the five-month lockdown of the epidemic and the longest strike in the company’s history by the Colombian Serejón company’s trade union, many coal mines in Colombia have been suspended.
Cerejón is one of the largest coal producers in Colombia, with BHP Billiton (BHP), Anglo American (Anglo American) and Glencore each holding one-third of the shares. In addition, Drummond is also a major miner in Colombia.
Columbia Prodeco is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Glencore. Due to the decline in global coal prices due to the new crown pneumonia epidemic, the company’s operating costs have increased. Since March last year, Protico’s Calenturitas and La Jagua coal mines have been under maintenance. Due to lack of economic viability, Glencore decided to abandon the mining contract for the coal mine last month.
However, data shows that in 2020, Colombia’s coal mining rights tax revenue will still rank first among all minerals, at 1.2 trillion pesos, or about 328 million U.S. dollars.