Colombia to produce 95Mt of coal in 2017 – vice-minister

Colombia to produce 95Mt of coal in 2017 – vice-minister

BOGOTA – Colombia could produce at least 95-million tonnes of coal in 2017, below an initial target of 102-million tonnes, themining vice-minister said on Wednesday.

The Andean country is the world's fifth-largest producer of the fuel and recorded an output of 90.9 -million tonnes last year, the highest figure in its history despite price instability.

"The country's great potential in coal is reflected in the close to six-billion tonnes of reserves and a potential of 16-billion tonnes," Carlos Cante, vice-minister of mining and energy, told a coal conference in the Caribbean city of Cartagena.

"We expect that 2017 will have the same growth rhythm that we've had, despite projections in our multi-year investment plan showing that in 2017 we were going to get close to 102 -million tonnes, we think that with 95-million tonnes in output the country will move forward," Cante said.

The biggest players in Colombia's coal-mining industry are Drummond, Glencore, Murray Energy's Colombia Natural Resources, and Cerrejon, which is jointly owned by BHP Billiton, Anglo American and Glencore.