Reuters reported on Thursday that Colombia’s main coal railway, known as Fenoco, will be closed from 10:30 pm until 4:30 am for at least another two months, dropping the overall volume of coal transported on the railway by 25%. Coal miner Drummond, the second-biggest coal miner in the country and one of the three owners of the railway, noted that the partial closure has already affected its exports. The rail line is being closed at night while engineers install noise dampeners, because of complaints by residents in Colombia’s Cesar department.
In other mining-related news, Colombian business journal Portafolio interviewed Mike Elliott, the global leader for mining and metals at Ernst&Young (EY). His main argument was that lowering taxes and requirements of mining sector companies would stimulate investment in Colombia.
Elliott is headlining the inaugural conference of the Colombian Mining Association in Cartagena. On the whole, Elliott is very optimistic on the prospects of the Colombian mining sector for the next 5 or 6 years. Nonetheless, because prices have fallen from their peaks, companies are no longer willing to stomach the high risks that they did in earlier years.
On the subject of illegal mining in Colombia, Liborio Guarulla, governor of Venezuela’s Amazonas state, told the Miami Herald that there are approximately 4,000 FARC members operating in his state. He said that the guerrillas are engaging in illegal gold and coltan mining. He warned, “The most serious problem is that the president of Colombia thinks the conflict is ending but it’s just being transferred to the Venezuelan side of the border.” Guarulla, one of the few opposition governors in the country, noted that complicity from other Venezuelan governmental officials is not helping the matter.
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