Colombian coal production in 2013 fell 4% on the year, says government agency

BOGOTA (Scrap Monster): The coal production by the country fell 4.15% to 85.5 million mt during 2013, said Colombia’s National Mining Agency (ANM). The fall in output is primarily attributed to strikes, export ban and logistics disruptions during the year.

ANM indicated that coal output at Cerrejon and Drummond were hampered by strikes. Strikes at Cerrejon which started during February lasted for almost a month. The Drummond strikes extended for almost seven weeks,paralyzing the output during late July. Further, coal shipments through Fenoco rail line were disrupted. During early 2013, coal exports from Drummond faced ban. Colombian coal production was hit by all these factors.

According to ANM data, the country could achieve only 84.2% of the output target set for the year. Out of the total production, nearly 80.6 million mt were exported from the country. This accounted to 94.3% of the total output. The balance 4.9 million mt were utilized by domestic power industry, steel and cement plants.

The country’s coal production geared up towards the end of the year. Though the yearly production in 2013 is lower when compared to 2012, the year has ended on a good note with production during fourth quarter alone jumping 18% year-on-year. The country’s coal output during Q4 totaled 3.8 million mt.

The mining data also indicate that country’s gold production fell by 16% in 2013. Also, silver production in 2013 plunged 28% on the year.

Colombia is currently ranked fourth on the list of world’s top coal exporting countries.