Cerrejón is a large open-pit coal mine in Northern Colombia owned by

Glencore Glencore plc is a Swiss multinational commodity trading and mining company with headquarters in Baar, Switzerland. Glencore's oil and gas head office is in London and its registered office is in Saint Helier, Jersey. The current company wa ...

. At Cerrejón, low-ash, low-sulphur bituminous coal from the

Cerrejón Formation The Cerrejón Formation is a geologic formation in Colombia dating back to the Middle-Late Paleocene. It is found in the El Cerrejón sub-basin of the Cesar-Ranchería Basin of La Guajira and Cesar. The formation consists of bituminous coal fie ...

is excavated. At over the mine is one of the largest of its type, the largest in Latin America and the tenth biggest in the world. Cerrejón is divided into three sections, North Zone, Central Zone and South Zone. Total proven reserves are estimated at 503 megatonnes. In 2016, the mine produced . In June 2020, lawyers for the local Wayuu community lodged a request to the United Nations special rapporteur for human rights and the environment for work to be immediately halted over environmental and human rights concerns. In September 2020, several UN independent human rights experts called for the mining operations to be halted, citing the serious damage to the environment and the negative effects on the health and other rights of the indigenous peoples who live in the area. These experts include the Special Rapporteur for human rights and the environment, the Special Rapporteur on the right to food, the Special Rapporteur on the right to health, the Special Rapporteur on the rights to water and sanitation, the Special Rapporteur on

extreme poverty Extreme poverty, deep poverty, abject poverty, absolute poverty, destitution, or penury, is the most severe type of poverty, defined by the United Nations (UN) as "a condition characterized by severe deprivation of basic human needs, includi ...

and human rights, the Special Rapporteur on hazardous substances and wastes, the Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples, and the Working Group on human rights and transnational corporations.

Geography

Cerrejón is located in Northern Colombia in the southeast of the department of the arid plain

La Guajira La Guajira () is a department of Colombia. It occupies most of the Guajira Peninsula in the northeast region of the country, on the Caribbean Sea and bordering Venezuela, at the northernmost tip of South America. The capital city of the departm ...

, close to the border with Venezuela. The mine extends over and is situated in the northeastern part of the Cesar-Ranchería Basin, the basin of the Ranchería River, between the

Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta The Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta (English: ''Snow-Covered Mountain Range of Saint Martha'') is an isolated mountain range in northern Colombia, separate from the Andes range that runs through the north of the country. Reaching an elevation of ...

in the west and the Serranía del Perijá to the southeast.

Prehistory

Cerrejón was once home the

Titanoboa ''Titanoboa'' (; ) is an extinct genus of very large snakes that lived in what is now La Guajira in northeastern Colombia. They could grow up to , perhaps even long and reach a body mass of . This snake lived during the Middle to Late Paleo ...

, the largest snake on the planet, that dwarfed even today's

anaconda Anacondas or water boas are a group of large snakes of the genus '' Eunectes''. They are found in tropical South America. Four species are currently recognized. Description Although the name applies to a group of snakes, it is often used t ...

and also dominated prehistoric Cerrejón, 60 Million Years ago along with large fish, Turtles and even crocodiles; with crocodiles being its main food sources. Titanoboa may have eaten the fish that roomed the waters of its home and may have preyed on them like the crocodiles, but due to the changing climate Titanoboa and the creatures that lived with it disappeared from the face of Cerrejón.

History

The 19th century

There is controversy about the discoverer of Cerrejón mine, and some names are shuffled: the American civil engineer John May, hired by the national government, which conducted the examination in 1864; the writer Jorge Isaacs; and Mr. Juan Gomez Osío, native of La Guajira. In the 19th century small scale mining began.La pugna por el carbón de El Cerrejón en el siglo XIX
/ref>

Cerrejón North Zone

The "defunct" company Intercor (International Colombia Resources Corporation) was in its time called "The Cerrejón Zona Norte Coal Project": In December 1976, a partnership contract was signed between Carbocol S. A. (Carbones de Colombia S. A.), a state-owned firm, and Intercor (International Colombia Resources Corporation Intercor), at the time Exxon, today

ExxonMobil ExxonMobil Corporation (commonly shortened to Exxon) is an American multinational oil and gas corporation headquartered in Irving, Texas. It is the largest direct descendant of John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil, and was formed on November 3 ...

subsidiary, to develop the north zone of Cerrejón. This contract considered three stages: exploration (1977–1980), construction (1981–1986), and production (1986–2009). In January 1999, the Colombian government extended the concession for a further 25 years, to 2034. In November 2000, the Colombian government sold its Carbocol S. A. shares (50%) in the partnership contract Cerrejón North Zone to a consortium comprising subsidiaries of BHP Billiton, Anglo American, and

. In 2013, Glencore merged with

Xstrata Xstrata plc was an Anglo-Swiss multinational mining company headquartered in Zug, Switzerland and with its registered office in London, United Kingdom. It was a major producer of coal (and the world's largest exporter of thermal coal), copper, ...

. In February 2002, this consortium acquired the remaining 50% of shares from Intercor (ExxonMobil), thereby becoming sole concessioners of the Cerrejón North Zone. In November 2002, the union of the purchased to Intercor and Carbones del Cerrejón S. A. was formalized, and the official name of the mine operator was changed to Carbones del Cerrejón Limited, Cerrejón.

Cerrejón Central Zone

In this zone, there are two areas under concession: * The Central Deposit (El Cerrejón community) has been in production since 1981 via contracts with different companies (a Domi Prodeco Auxini consortium, Carbones del Caribe, and others). In 1995, Glencore acquired Prodeco S. A., creating Carbones del Cerrejón S. A. and then in 1997, Anglo American became involved in the business. In 2000, BHP Billiton became the third partner. * The Oreganal Deposit (state-owned) was initially under concession to Carbones del Caribe by the national government. Then, in 1995, the concession passed to Oreganal S. A. which, in turn, ceded its shares to Carbones del Cerrejón S. A. in 1999.

Patilla Area

In 2001, after a public tender, this area was ceded to a consortium comprising Carbones del Cerrejón S. A. and Cerrejón Zona Norte S.A., which is currently concessioned to subsidiaries of BHP Billiton, Anglo American, and Xstrata.

Cerrejón South Zone

In 1997, after a tender process, the exploration and mining contract for this zone was awarded to the consortium now comprising subsidiaries of BHP Billiton, Anglo American, and Xstrata. Currently, the Cerrejón South Zone is under exploration.

Description

Cerrejón was at one point the tenth largest coal mine in the world and the biggest in Latin America.The 10 biggest coal mines in the world
/ref> Production started in 1985, when the mine was operated by Carbocol, a Colombian state company and Intercor, a subsidiary of

. The proven reserves in 2009 were and the probable reserves . The coal is low-ash, low-sulphur bituminous coal, mined from the

Paleocene The Paleocene, ( ) or Palaeocene, is a geological epoch that lasted from about 66 to 56 million years ago (mya). It is the first epoch of the Paleogene Period in the modern Cenozoic Era. The name is a combination of the Ancient Greek ''pala ...

in the northeastern part (Cerrejón Sub-basin) of the Cesar-Ranchería Basin.Cerrejón
/ref> The coal seams reach a thickness of .Cerrejón, una gigante que no deja de trabajar
- Portafolio The total production in 2016 was .Producción de carbón en Colombia
- UPME

Operator

As of 2017 Cerrejón was owned in equal parts by subsidiaries of three international mining companies BHP, Anglo American and

. These 3 companies sell the coal through their business named CMC, headquartered in Dublin. The mine produces over of thermal coal a year and has estimated reserves of over . From 1985 to 2011, it produced 508.8 million tonnes of coal and generated US$2,006 million in royalties. In 2011 alone, sales generated US$336.60 million for the country as a whole and the region of La Guajira. By the end of 2011, it had reached a historical production figure of 32.03 million tonnes to the following markets: Europe (58%), the Mediterranean and Asia (21%), Central and South America (12%), and North America (9%). These external sales represent 40% of Colombia's coal sales and 4.6% of global coal sales.

Integrated operation

The open-pit coal mine has maintenance workshops of over .

Workforce

Carbones del Cerrejón's directly employed 5,373 workers (62% from La Guajira, 28% from other parts of the Caribbean coast, and 10% from the rest of the country). In addition, a further 4,497 workers are employed indirectly through contractor firms for the operation. Mushaisa Residential Unit offers complete infrastructure for housing, commercial shops, and services for 2,200 residents, 297 houses, 430 apartments, and a hotel for over 200 people. Albania School is a bilingual school with a very high ICFES ranking at 23 out of 12,273 educational institutions in the country.

Mining fleet

Carbones del Cerrejón has a mining fleet comprising 493 pieces of equipment: 258 trucks with a load capacity of 190, 240, and 320 tonnes, 50 hydraulic shovels, and 185 pieces of auxiliary equipment. A truck can haul a load equivalent to approximately 10 tractor trailers. In Colombia, a tractor trailer hauls 30 to 35 tonnes.A P&H 2800XPC shovel has a load capacity equivalent to the weight of 40 automobiles, that is, approximately 63.5 tonnes. A PC8000 shovel can manage a load equivalent to 50 automobiles, about .

Railway

The integrated railway line is long. Each train can haul 109 freight wagons, each of which can carry of of coal. The Tren del Cerrejón connects the mine with Puerto Bolívar

Port

Puerto Bolívar is the largest coal-export port in Latin America with covered conveyor belts and a direct-loading system since 1985, receives vessels of up to . The Puerto Bolívar shipping terminal loads

bulk carrier A bulk carrier or bulker is a merchant ship specially designed to transport unpackaged bulk cargo — such as grains, coal, ore, steel coils, and cement — in its cargo holds. Since the first specialized bulk carrier was built in 1852, eco ...

ships of up to . The port also has a supply dock for ships of up to 70,000 tonnes which is used to supply machinery, spare parts, fuel, and other goods for the mining operation. The navigable channel is deep, wide, and . It is one of the largest coal maritime ports in South America with

clean technology Clean technology, in short cleantech, is any process, product, or service that reduces negative environmental impacts through significant energy efficiency improvements, the sustainable use of resources, or environmental protection activities. Cl ...

. Airports of runway; Mine: . Mine-Puerto Bolívar Motorway. A motorway long for operational support and access for the population of La Guajira since 1982. It links the southern part of the department with the northern part.

Extraction process

The extraction process begins with the identification and relocation of wildlife in the area slated for intervention. Then the land is cleared and the topsoil is removed and stored in soil banks for the future reclamation of areas intervened by the mining operation. Subsequently, the area is drilled and explosives inserted for blasting so the hydraulic shovels can remove the overburden. This waste rock is loaded on 240-tonne and 320-tonne trucks and deposited in waste rock dump sites. Once the coal seams are exposed, the tractors pile up the coal and it is loaded onto 190-tonne trucks. The coal is taken to one of two crushing plants and piled in accordance with its quality and caloric value. The plant crushes the coal, and transports it via conveyor belt to the silos for loading in rail cars. The train travels 150 kilometres to Puerto Bolívar. At the unloading station, the train unloads the coal and conveyor belts transport it to the three stacker-reclaimers, which unload it to storage piles. It is later reclaimed and sent to the linear ship-loader, which places it in the holds of coal ships.

Environmental and human rights concerns

In the ten years leading up to 2011, mining has been related to human rights violations related to

environmental issues in Colombia Environmentally, Colombia is a mega-diverse country from its natural land terrain to its biological wildlife. Its biodiversity is a result of its geographical location and elevation. It is the fourth largest South American country and only country ...

. In June 2020, lawyers for the local Wayuu community lodged a request to the United Nations special rapporteur for human rights and the environment for work to be immediately halted over environmental and human rights concerns. In September 2020, several independent human rights experts for the UN called for the mining operations to be halted, citing the serious damage to the environment and the negative effects on the health and other rights of the indigenous peoples who live in the area.

References

External links

Carbones del Cerrejón Limited, Cerrejón
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cerrejon Coal mines in Colombia Cesar–Ranchería Basin La Guajira Department Open-pit mines Standard gauge railways in Colombia Surface mines in Colombia Xstrata