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El Descanso Coal Mine (Mina El Descanso) is an operating coal mine in Codazzi, Cesar, Colombia.
Location
Table 1: Project-level location details
| Mine Name | Location | Coordinates (WGS 84) |
|---|---|---|
| El Descanso Coal Mine | Codazzi, Cesar, Colombia[1][2] | 9.7050912, -73.5231884 (exact) |
The map below shows the exact location of the coal mine:
Project Details
Table 2: Project status
| Status | Status Detail | Opening Year | Closing Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Operating[3] | – | 2009[4] | – |
Table 3: Operation details
| Capacity (Mtpa) | Production (Mtpa) | Year of Production | Mine Type | Mining Method | Mine Size (km2) | Mine Depth (m) | Workforce Size |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| – | 20.4[3] | 2022[3] | Surface | Open Pit | 428 | 60* | 2496[5] |
Table 4: Coal resources and destination
| Total Reserves (Mt) | Year of Total Reserves Recorded | Total Resources (Mt) | Coalfield | Coal Type | Coal Grade | Primary Consumer/ Destination |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1763 | – | – | Cesar Coal Basin | Bituminous | Thermal | Puerto Drummond coal port |
Table 5: Ownership and parent company
| Owner | Parent Company | Headquarters |
|---|---|---|
| Drummond Ltd[6] | Drummond Company Inc [100%] | United States |
Note: The above section was automatically generated and is based on data from the GEM April 2024 Global Coal Mine Tracker dataset.
Background
El Descanso mine or Mina El Descanso is located in northern Colombia, near the El Paso municipality in Colombia's Cesar Department.[7] When mining began, the mine was considered the largest in the country and one of the largest in the world.[8][9] El Descanso mine or Mina El Descanso is located in northern Colombia, near the El Paso municipality in Colombia's Cesar Department.[7] When mining began, the mine was considered the largest in the country and one of the largest in the world.[8][9]
Mina El Descanso is operated by Drummond Ltd and owned 100% by Alabama-based Drummond Company Inc through its Colombian subsidiary Drummond International LLC.[10] The El Descanso mine was bought by Drummond from EcoCarbonin 1997.[11][12] It was the company's second mine when it began operation in 2009.[13] In August 2010 Drummond stated that it planned to expand the mine from its "current capacity of 3 million tonnes per year to 25 million tonnes per year over the next three years." The company also stated that this would require the expansion of the Puerto Drummond coal port which handles coal from both El Descanso mine and the company's Pribbenow mine. In a media release, the company stated that it had "committed to the government to build a direct ship loader" at Puerto Drummond.[14]
- Owner: Drummond International LLC[10]
- Parent company: Drummond Company Inc[10]
- Location: between the municipalities of Becerril and Agustín Codazzi, in Cesar Department of Colombia[7][8][13]
- GPS coordinates: 9.7050912, -73.5231884
- Mine status: Operating[13]
- Start year: 2009[13][11]
- Mineable reserves: 1.7 billion tonnes[11]
- Coal type:
- Mine size: 42,800 hectares[8]
- Mine type: Surface
- Production: 20.6 million tonnes per year (2021)[10]
- Additional proposed production:
- Equipment:
- Number of employees:2,496[15]
Coal Production & Exports
In early 2022, Drummond reported that it had been Colombia's leading coal producer for six consecutive years.[10] Combined production from all of Drummond's Colombian mines totaled 28.9 million tonnes in 2021, while exports rose to 31.5 million tonnes.[10] The El Descanso mine accounted for nearly three quarters of Drummond's Colombian production (20.6 million tonnes) in 2021.[10]
Coal production at Drummond's Colombian operations totaled 29.3 million tonnes in 2020[10] and 32.6 million tonnes in 2019[10][16], with the El Descanso mine contributing 21.5 million tonnes in 2020[10] and 23 million tonnes in 2019.[10][17]
Production and Exports - Drummond Mines in Colombia
| Year | Production - El Descanso (Mtpa) | Production - Pribbenow (Mtpa) | Total Production (Mtpa) | Total Exports (Mtpa) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 20.4[18] | 5.7[18] | 27.6[18] | 27.7[18] |
| 2021 | 20.6[10] | 7.6[10] | 28.9[10] | 31.5[10] |
| 2020 | 21.5[19] | 7.8[19] | 29.3[10] | 29.7[10] |
| 2019 | 23.1[20] | 9.5[20] | 32.6[10] | 31.1[10] |
| 2018 | 30.8[10] | 31.5[10] | ||
| 2017 | 32.5[10] | 32.4[10] |
Ownership
Mina El Descanso is a project of the Drummond Company Inc.[10] In 2011 Drummond sold a 20% stake in its Colombian mining operations to the Japanese company Itochu Corp.[21][22] In early 2021 Drummond Company Inc reassumed 100% ownership of the mines.[10]
Coal Spill
According to Wood Mackenzie, "In 2013, a barge ferrying coal at Puerto Drummond overturned and sunk. The incident resulted in the Colombian government suspending Drummond's export license for nearly a month and implementing a new regulation requiring direct ship loading as [of] 1 January 2014."[12]
Fatal Incidents
In April 2022, 38-year-old Orlando Silva Ramos was killed at El Descanso mine after a dump collapsed due to strong rain, burying him in the resulting landslide. Silva Ramos was believed to have illegally entered the facility with a group of other people, who reported what had happened to the authorities.[23]
On September 4, 2022, a Drummond bus carrying 14 mining company workers lost control and collided with a heavy-duty truck loaded with coal, 400 meters from the entrance to the El Descanso mine. Three workers were killed and several others injured.[24]
Environmental and Human Rights Impact
In 2017, the indigenous Yukpa community of the Cesar region filed a lawsuit against a mining company in the Serranía del Perijá, prompting Drummond to perform new investigations into whether the area of the Descanso mine coincided with Yukpa ancestral territory. Following this investigation, Drummond reiterated previous claims that "that there is NO evidence that Drummond's areas of operations coincide with ancestral Yukpa territory and, therefore, there is also no evidence of any affectation caused to said ethnic group." However, Yukpa spokespeople state that the coal deposit overlaps with and has disrupted sacred ancestral burial grounds, and that former mine workers have reported finding blanket-wrapped bodies of Yukpa community members at the site.[25]
In November 2021, activists from the Global Movement for Climate Justice, Extinction Rebellion, Oyawa, and other organizations staged simultaneous protests in Berlin, Paris, Madrid, Seville, Milan, and Naples in support of the Yukpa people, asking the Colombian national government to return Yukpa ancestral territory. The activists, mobilized by Yukpa International Delgate Juan Pablo Gutiérrez, cited not only the need to protect cultural heritage but also El Descanso's impact on the biodiversity of the region, which in turn affects the Yukpa community's ability to source food.[26]
Articles and Resources
Additional data
To access additional data, including an interactive map of world coal mines, a downloadable dataset, and summary data, please visit the Global Coal Mine Tracker on the Global Energy Monitor website.
References
- ↑ 7474m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m10!1m2!2m1!1sel+descanso+mina+colombia!3m6!1s0x8e5fd8c9c9695639:0x6cbb8c9c5d10fe59!8m2!3d9.7515554!4d-73.4899465!15sChllbCBkZXNjYW5zbyBtaW5hIGNvbG9tYmlhkgEEbWluZeABAA!16s%2Fg%2F11c60jpzgf?entry=ttu-73.5066638
- ↑ https://www.google.com/maps/place/Mina+el+descanso/@9.7572099.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 https://web.archive.org/web/20240229044652/https://issuu.com/drummondltd/docs/drummond_en_cifras_2022. Archived from the original on 29 February 2024.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ https://www.drummondltd.com/about-us/timeline/?lang=en https://www.drummondltd.com/about-us/history/?lang=en https://www.drummondltd.com/about-us/timeline/?lang=en.
{{cite web}}: Check|url=value (help); Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ https://issuu.com/drummondltd/docs/drummond_ingles2017_digital_2019050?e=19253911/69675269.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ https://www.drummondltd.com/en/our-operations/mining-operations/.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Drummond Ltd. Colombia mines organizational website, accessed Nov. 8, 2019
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 El Tiempo Orginal: Drummond comenzó a explotar el carbón en El Descanso, Cesar Translation: Drummond began to exploit coal in El Descanso, Cesar El Tiempo July 31, 2008
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 El Espectador original: Drummond inicia exportaciones de carbón de mina El Descanso translation: Drummond starts coal exports from El Descanso mine elespectador.com June 11, 2009
- ↑ 10.00 10.01 10.02 10.03 10.04 10.05 10.06 10.07 10.08 10.09 10.10 10.11 10.12 10.13 10.14 10.15 10.16 10.17 10.18 10.19 10.20 10.21 10.22 10.23 10.24 "2021 Sustainability Report 2021 (pp 12, 19-21, 57, 70)". Drummond Ltd. Colombia. January 31, 2021.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 Drummond ltd timeline organizational site, accessed Nov. 8, 2019
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 Wood Mackenzie El Descanso coal mine Asset Report, August 30 2018
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 Drummond ltd about operational website, accessed Nov 8, 2019
- ↑ Drummond "Drummond Limited Plans new development", Media Release, August 21, 2010.
- ↑ Drummond Ltd 2017 Annual report corporate document, accessed Nov. 8, 2019
- ↑ "Drummond cerró el año 2019 como el mayor productor de carbón por cuarta vez consecutiva: 32.7 millones de toneladas". Drummond Ltd. January 23, 2020.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Drummond le apuesta a exportar 32.5 millones de toneladas en 2019". Radio Guatapurí. August 27, 2019.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ 18.0 18.1 18.2 18.3 "Drummond en Cifras 2022". Drummond Ltd. January 1, 2023.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ 19.0 19.1 "2020 Sustainability Report (p 31)". Drummond Ltd. Colombia. January 2021.
- ↑ 20.0 20.1 "2019 Sustainability Report (p 42)". Drummond Ltd. Colombia. January 2020.
- ↑ "ITOCHU Corporation Invests in Drummond Company Colombian Mines | Press Releases | ITOCHU Corporation". ITOCHU Corporation. June 16, 2011.
- ↑ "Drummond to partially restart Colombian coal operations". S&P Global. April 9, 2020.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ Bohórquez, Cristian (1 abril 2022). "Rescatan cadáver de hombre sepultado por un derrumbe en mina del Cesar". El Heraldo. Retrieved 3 October 2022.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ↑ "Tres muertos y varios heridos por accidente de bus de Drummond en Cesar". Semana. 5 septiembre 2022. Retrieved 3 October 2022.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ↑ Ovalle Jácome, Ludys (23 noviembre 2021). "La lucha del pueblo yukpa por salvaguardar su territorio ancestral". Retrieved 3 October 2022.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ↑ Ovalle Jácome, Ludys (17 noviembre 2021). "Esta es la mina de carbón por la que protestan activistas internacionales". El Tiempo. Retrieved 3 October 2022.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help)
