Goldman Sachs looks to sell its Colombian mines

Over the weekend, the Wall Street Journal reported that Goldman Sachs is look to end its foray into producing raw materials and sell off its coal mine assets in Colombia. The WSJ explained that Goldman encountered problem after problem: with local woman and children protesting labor issues and shutting down production, a total collapse in coal prices, and an environmental law that closed the mine for much of 2014.

Goldman first entered the Colombian mining industry in 2010 when it bought La Francia coal mine from Canada’s Coalcorp Mining for $151 million. Though Goldman initially planned to quickly flip the mind, it ended up expanding its holdings in 2012. Since then, though, Goldman’s coal mining operations have been plagued by problems, resulting in a net loss of $200 million for Goldman on its Colombian misadventure.

In oil-related news, Colombian daily El Espectador reported on the conference “Where is the economy heading in 2015?” headlined by the Minister and Deputy Minister of Finance. Minister Mauricio Cárdenas warned that, based on his ministry’s projections, the various entities of the Colombian government will need to cut their spending by 10%, and the DIAN, the Colombian tax agency, will need to collect an additional $5 billion by cutting down on tax evasion. Cárdenas made it clear that his primary objective is to attract foreign investment to Colombia, now that the government no longer has the revenue to invest on its own in the country’s infrastructural needs.

Reporting on the same conference, Vanguardia interviewed Cinmipetrol president Alejandro Martínez about the state of the Colombian oil sector. He told the news outlet that Colombia’s biggest challenge right now is building its oil reserves and restarting its oil exploration activities.