Local residents stymie Colombia’s coal plans
Local residents stymie Colombia’s coal plans
by Andrew Willis, November 12 2014, 06:41
BOGOTA — Cerrejon — one of the world’s largest open-pit coal mines — is struggling to persuade a small community in northeastern Colombia to relocate and may have to alter its mining strategy.
The venture — owned by BHP Billiton, Anglo American and Glencore — was in relocation talks with residents of Las Casitas, where dust was approaching levels set by the World Bank, vice-president of public affairs Juan Carlos Restrepo said in a telephone interview last week.
"We have until 2016; otherwise we’ll have to change our mining plans, expand the pit in a different direction or mine in other areas," he said.
Mr Restrepo said that Cerrejon had been negotiating for six years with residents in the Las Casitas area, near the Oreganal pit, and had reached a deal with 26 out of 64 families.
Resistance from some residents comes as Colombia’s government looks to boost coal production to counter a drop in revenue after thermal coal prices dropped to at least a seven-year low this month.
The complex temporarily halted operations at several pits this year amid a severe drought in the northeastern province of La Guajira.
Last year, the company exported 33.5-million metric tonnes of thermal coal, with the majority of Colombian coal exports going to European power producers including Electricite de France.
Under Colombia’s mining code, the authorities could expropriate houses and land from families that failed to reach an agreement, with both voluntary and forced moves compensated with new homes and land, Mr Restrepo said.
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Non-governmental organisation London Mining Network said rural families had been moved to semi-urban areas under previous Cerrejon relocations, meaning they could no longer continue their farming way of life. The company denies this.
More:
http://www.bdlive.co.za/world/americas/2014/11/12/local-residents-stymie-colombias-coal-plans