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Prodeco Coal Mine (Mina Prodeco) is a mothballed coal mine in La Jagua de Ibírico, Cesar, Colombia.
Location
Table 1: Project-level location details
| Mine Name | Location | Coordinates (WGS 84) |
|---|---|---|
| Prodeco Coal Mine | La Jagua de Ibírico, Cesar, Colombia | 9.643868, -73.480045 (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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mothballed[1] | Care and Maintenance[1] | 2017 | – |
Table 3: Operation details
| Capacity (Mtpa) | Production (Mtpa) | Year of Production | Mine Type | Mining Method | Mine Size (km2) | Mine Depth (m) | Workforce Size |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15[2] | – | 2019[2] | Surface[1] | Open Pit[1] | – | 60* | * |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| – | – | 405 | – | Bituminous | Thermal & Met | Puerto Nuevo coal terminal |
Table 5: Ownership and parent company
| Owner | Parent Company | Headquarters |
|---|---|---|
| Prodeco Group[1] | Glencore PLC [100.0%] | Switzerland |
Note: The above section was automatically generated and is based on data from the Global Coal Mine Tracker April 2024 release and the September supplement.
Background
Prodeco coal mine is a coal mine near the La Jagua municipality in the Cesar Department of Colombia. The mine consists of two open pits, Mina Calenturitas and Mina La Jagua, which had their operations merged in 2017. In March 2020, mine operator Glencore halted operations and placed the mines on care and maintenance, citing the COVID 19 pandemic, declining coal prices, and local unrest.[3] In February 2021 Glencore returned control of both mines to the Colombian government.[4][5][6] The Prodeco mine consists of two open pits, Mina Calenturitas and Mina La Jagua, which had their operations merged in 2017. In 1989, Colombia's state-owned coal company Carbocol granted a concession to Prodeco to operate the mine.[7] In 1995, Prodeco's Colombian coal assets were acquired by Glencore.[8]
The Calenturitas and La Jagua mines are connected by railway to the Puerto Nuevo coal terminal on Colombia's Caribbean coast, where coal is exported to international markets.[9]
- Operator: Prodeco Group[10]
- Owner: Glencore[10]
- Location: near El Paso, La Jagua de Ibirico and Becerril municipalities in the Cesar Department of Colombia
- GPS coordinates: 9.581323,-73.286097 (La Jagua); 9.643868, -73.480045 (Calenturitas)
- Mine status: Operating, Care and Maintenance (March 2020)[3]
- Start year: 1989[7]
- Mineable reserves: 135 million tonnes[11]
- Coal type: Bituminous (Thermal and Metallurgic)[12]
- Mine size:
- Mine type: Surface, open pit
- Production: 15.6 million tonnes per year (2019)[13]
- Equipment:
- Number of employees: 2,500[3]
Production
Table 1: Annual Coal Production Since 2010 - Prodeco Mine
| Year | Total Production (Mtpa) |
|---|---|
| 2022 | 0[14] |
| 2021 | 0[15] |
| 2020 | 3.8[16] |
| 2019 | 15.6[13] |
| 2018 | 11.7[17] |
| 2017 | 14.6[18] |
| 2016 | 17.3[19] |
| 2015 | 17.6[20] |
| 2014 | 19.5[21] |
| 2013 | 18.6[22] |
| 2012 | 14.8[23] |
| 2011 | 14.6[24] |
| 2010 | 10.0[24] |
Suspension of Operations
In March 2020, Glencore halted operations and placed the mines on care and maintenance, citing the COVID 19 pandemic, declining coal prices, and local unrest.[3] In July 2020, Glencore sought to prolong the suspension, requesting state approval from the mining regulators to delay a restart.[25] As a result of the extended care and maintenance, Glencore's thermal coal output plunged 13% in 2020, from 132 to 114 million tonnes, accounting for the lack of production at the Prodeco coal mine.[26] The suspension was originally sought for as long as 4 years, but later reduced to 18 months.[27] In September 2020, the mining regulator ANM rejected Glencore's request to remain off line, but the company appealed. As of November 24, 2020, ANM had 30 days to make a final decision and had requested a "technical visit" to the mine.[28]
In February 2021, Glencore announced that it would relinquish its contracts for the Calenturitas and La Jagua mines, returning control of both units to the Colombian government.[4][5][6] Following the announcement, multiple Colombian civil society organizations expressed concern that Glencore might abandon the Prodeco mine without presenting a suitable closure plan and without addressing the social and environmental problems caused by its mining operations over the preceding three decades.[29][30] In April 2021, Colombia's national mining agency ANM rejected Glencore's plan to return the mining concessions.[31] However, in September 2021 ANM reversed its decision.[32]
Glencore's 2022 Sustainability Report maintained that operations were ceased at the Prodeco coal mine.[33] The company's annual report for the same year confirmed that the Prodeco mine had not generated any revenue in 2022.[34]
Disputes over the Mines' Future and Prodeco's Responsibilities
As of September 2022, the Colombian government's plans for continued operation of the mines were unclear, and a host of issues surrounding the mines' closure remained unresolved, including compensation for the mines' environmental impact, job transition prospects for laid-off mine workers, and the government-ordered resettlement of citizens of El Hatillo, a community heavily impacted by coal pollution from the mines.[35] The government had initially announced plans to award the mine contracts to new owners by the end of July, and pre-qualified six companies for bidding. However, they ultimately suspended the auction process.[36][37][38][39]
On September 3, 2022, the Administrative Court of Valledupar ruled in favor of 14 local communities in a guardianship case filed against the Prodeco Group, and ordered Glencore and the National Agency for Environmental Licenses (ANLA) to meet with all impacted parties in order to define the company's environmental and social obligations in the context of an organized mine closure plan.[40][41] Following the court's ruling, Colombia's Minister of the Environment and Sustainable Development, Susana Muhamad, announced that the government was prepared to enforce the mine closure plan.[42]
On November 3, 2022, Senator Didier Lobo Chinchilla convened a five-hour public hearing of Colombia's Fifth Senate Commission in La Jagua de Ibirico to discuss the future of the Prodeco mines, and the impact of the mine's closure on thousands of local residents. Attendees included Prodeco officials, residents of Cesar department's coal mining corridor, Environment Minister Susana Muhamad, and representatives from Colombia's mining and environmental permitting agencies.[43][44][45] While the hearing did little to clarify the mines' uncertain future, government officials including Minister Muhamad and Senator Chinchilla signaled their support for new initiatives to revitalize the region's agricultural and small business economy and designate the Cesar mining corridor as a national "energy transition" pilot project.[46][47][48]
On November 4, 2022, the Seventh Administrative Judge of the Valledupar Circuit ordered that Prodeco and the Colombian environmental licensing authority ANLA hold a series of three community meetings within the following month to discuss an updated closure plan for the mines and identify Prodeco's outstanding obligations.[49] The three meetings were held on November 29 in El Paso, November 30 in Jagua de Ibirico[50] and December 1 in Becerril.[49] Prodeco subsequently asserted that it had complied with all of its obligations under the court order.[49]
As of December 2022, Prodeco continued to argue that no mine closure plan was required, in light of the government's previous request that the mines be handed over in operating condition for assignment to a new concessionaire.[51][52] At the same time, representatives of communities affected by the mines' closure have argued that Prodeco has held disproportionate control over the public hearings process, and have requested the Colombian government's intervention to guarantee the authority of environmental licensing agency ANLA to hold Prodeco accountable.[53]
In late 2023, a Tribunal session via the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes was still pending for the mining concession dispute between Glencore and the Republic of Colombia.[54]
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
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 https://www.grupoprodeco.com.co/en/nuestra-operaci-n/minas.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ 2.0 2.1 (PDF) https://www.glencore.com/.rest/api/v1/documents/5a08fe1942f92df7f2301ac3681e23aa/glen-2019-annual-report-interactive.pdf.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Prodeco seeks longer suspension of Colombia coal mining, Argus, July 6, 2020
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 "UPDATE 3-Glencore to return Prodeco's coal mining contracts to Colombia". Reuters. February 4, 2021.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Glencore to return Prodeco's coal mining contracts to Colombia". Nasdaq. February 4, 2021.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Minera Prodeco inicia proceso para cerrar sus operaciones en Colombia". El Tiempo. February 4, 2021.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ 7.0 7.1 Montoya-Domínguez, Estefanía (December 31, 2018). "La extracción de carbón en el centro del Cesar, Colombia: apuntes para la comprensión del conflicto ambiental (p 65)". Gestión y Ambiente.
- ↑ "Nuestra historia". Grupo Prodeco. Retrieved 2021-05-09.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Inicia proceso para buscarle nuevos dueños a minas de carbón de Prodeco en Cesar". Semana. April 29, 2022.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ 10.0 10.1 Global Methane Initiative, Colombia, Coal Overviews, 2010, p. 84.
- ↑ Glencore,Reserves and Resources Report, December 31, 2019
- ↑ Grupo Prodeco,Mina La Jagua, Company website, accessed May 9, 2021
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 "Annual Report 2019 (pp 71, 241)" (PDF). Glencore. March 4, 2020.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "2022 Sustainability Report" (PDF). Glencore. 2022.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Annual Report 2021 (p 66)" (PDF). Glencore. March 2022.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Annual Report 2020 (p 69)" (PDF). Glencore. March 2021.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Annual Report 2018 (p 88)" (PDF). Glencore. March 2019.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Annual Report 2017 (p 77)" (PDF). Glencore. March 2018.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Annual Report 2016 (p 72)" (PDF). Glencore. March 2017.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Annual Report 2015 (p 62)" (PDF). Glencore. March 2016.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Annual Report 2014 (p 62)" (PDF). Glencore. March 2015.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Glencore Xstrata Annual Report 2013 (p 68)" (PDF). Glencore. March 2014.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Annual Report 2012 (p 58)" (PDF). Glencore. March 2013.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ 24.0 24.1 "Annual Report 2011 (p 62)" (PDF). Glencore. March 2012.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ Karl Decena,Glencore's Colombian coal mine wants to prolong stoppage, S&P Global,July 7, 2020
- ↑ Glencore forecasts coal production decline in 2020, Australian Mining, August 3, 2020
- ↑ Laurence Walker,Glencore seeks to suspend Colombian coal unit for 4 years, Montel News, July 15, 2020
- ↑ Regulator to take Prodeco coal decision next month, Argus, November 24, 2020
- ↑ "Comunicado: Prodeco pretende renunciar a títulos mineros en El Cesar, incumpliendo acuerdos y afectando derechos y condiciones de vida de comunidades locales y trabajadores". PAS (Pensamiento y Acción Social). February 8, 2021.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Prodeco Pretende Renunciar A Títulos Mineros En El Cesar". Asociación Ambiente Y Sociedad. February 8, 2021.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Colombia rejects Glencore unit's return of two coal mining concessions". Reuters. April 7, 2021.
- ↑ "Glencore to return Prodeco coal mining contracts to Colombia". Reuters. September 6, 2021.
- ↑ Sustainability Report 2022, Glencore, 2022.
- ↑ Annual Report 2022, Glencore, 2022.
- ↑ Monsalve, María Mónica (June 4, 2022). "Una gran minera en Cesar renuncia a sus títulos. Inicia un gran debate". El Espectador.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Inicia proceso para buscarle nuevos dueños a minas de carbón de Prodeco en Cesar". Semana. April 29, 2022.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "ANM suspende la Ronda Minera de Carbón 2022". Agencia Nacional de Minería ANM. July 25, 2022.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Gobierno Duque desistió de adjudicar minas de carbón en el Cesar a último momento". Semana. 5 agosto 2022. Retrieved 26 September 2022.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ↑ "¿Qué pasó con las minas de Prodeco? Colombia suspendió plazo de la ronda de carbón". Valora Analitik. 25 julio 2022. Retrieved 26 September 2022.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ↑ "Gobierno nacional acatará fallo en contra de la empresa minera Prodeco". Infobae. 16 septiembre 2022. Retrieved 26 septiembre 2022.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|access-date=and|date=(help) - ↑ "Minambiente establece atención y seguimiento integral a todos los proyectos que se adelantan en el corredor minero del Cesar". Ministerio de Ambiente y Desarrollo Sostenible. 17 septiembre 2022. Retrieved 26 September 2022.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ↑ "Gobierno nacional acatará fallo en contra de la empresa minera Prodeco". Infobae. September 16, 2022.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Este jueves, la Comisión Quinta del Senado realizará una audiencia pública en La Jagua de Ibirico por el cierre de las minas de Prodeco". Senado de la República. November 1, 2022.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Por cierre de las minas de carbón en el César se quedarían sin explotar 90 millones de toneladas". Infobae. November 3, 2022.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "UAEOS en la Audiencia pública de cierre de minas en la Jagua de Ibirico y Calenturitas | UAEOS". UAEOS (Unidad Administrativa Especial de Organizaciones Solidarias). November 4, 2022.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Histórica Audiencia Pública realizó la Comisión Quinta del Senado". Senador Didier Lobo. November 4, 2022.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Pese a la audiencia pública sobre el cierre de las minas de Prodeco, el panorama para el sector minero del Cesar aún no es claro". Radio Guatapurí. November 4, 2022.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Ministra de Ambiente anuncia plan piloto de transición energética en el Cesar". Radio Nacional. November 4, 2022.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ 49.0 49.1 49.2 "Acreditación de Cumplimiento de lo Ordenado en el Fallo de Primera Instancia proferido el 4 de noviembre de 2022 por el Juez Séptimo Administrativo del Circuito de Valledupar" (PDF). Grupo Prodeco. December 7, 2022.
{{cite web}}: line feed character in|title=at position 77 (help)CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "🔴#EnVivo | Mesa de diálogo en la que se presentará y discutirá el contenido de la actualización de los planes de cierre para determinar las obligaciones..." Enfoque Municipal | Facebook. November 30, 2022.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Mesa de Diálogo en Cumplimiento de la Orden Segunda del Fallo de Tutela Proferido por el Juzgado Séptimo Administrativo de Valledupar (p 18: ¿Por qué no aplica la implementación de un plan de cierre final?)" (PDF). ANLA / Grupo Prodeco. December 1, 2022.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Impugnación del Fallo de Primera Instancia proferido el 4 de noviembre de 2022 por el Juez Séptimo Administrativo del Circuito de Valledupar" (PDF). La Jagua / Prodeco. November 11, 2022.
{{cite web}}: line feed character in|title=at position 83 (help)CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Sin liderazgo de la ANLA se dificulta cumplimiento de obligaciones de Prodeco en proceso de cierre de la mina". Radio Guatapurí. December 19, 2022.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ Glencore International A.G. v. Republic of Colombia (ICSID Case No. ARB/21/30), International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes, Accessed: February 28, 2024.
