Colombia's coal economy

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The coal industry in Colombia is one of the most important industries in the country. Colombia is the third most important supplier of hard coal worldwide . The dismantling is also the cause of displacement, murder and human rights violations.

Occurrence

In 2002, Colombia had 7.4 billion tons of coal. These were mainly located at the foot of the Andes and on the La Guajira peninsula .

In the northern half of Colombia there were coal deposits that go back to the Tertiary and Cretaceous periods. Coal from the Cretaceous was z. B. to be found immediately north of Bogotá . Such coal contained little sulfur and ash and was suitable for the production of coke . Tertiary coal was found on the border with Venezuela , in El Cerrejón , in the far north of the country, on the north coast, and in the Valle del Cauca . The coal there also contained little sulfur and ash and was ideal for burning in coal-fired power plants .

In 2012, 5.6 billion tons of coal were found. In 1995, Colombia had the largest coal reserves compared with all other countries in South America.

Dismantling

In 1981 Colombia produced four million tons of coal, in 1991 26.5 million tons and in 2006 65.5 million tons. In 2006, Colombia was responsible for more than 80 percent of the coal production of South and Central America. In 2012, Colombia produced around 89 million t.

From 1980 to 1991, Colombia's coal production grew at an annual rate of around 17.8%.

The government's originally stronger participation in coal mining has decreased since 2000. Instead, private investors from Germany and abroad got more into business. For example, the state sold the shares of a state-owned company to El Cerrejón and issued new guidelines for coal mining.

The largest coal mines in Colombia are located in the north of the country, namely in the regions of La Guajira and in the Departamento del César. The El Cerrejón coal mine is the largest coal mine in South America.

Domestic use

In 1991 coal was responsible for 15.7% of Colombia's energy production. In 2012 the country consumed around 5 million tons of coal. This corresponds to approx. 5.6% of the production.

export

Europe
  
 68%
South America and the Caribbean
  
 15%
United States
  
 7%
China
  
 5%
Rest of Asia
  
 3%
Others
  
 2%
Distribution of coal exports to Colombia in 2012

In the mid-1960s, increased coal exports led to the construction of privately financed ports.

In 1991, Colombia's coal exports amounted to 16.1–16.3 million t; an increase of over 50% compared to 1981. At that time, Colombia was responsible for 88% of South America's coal exports. From 1988 to 1991, coal exported grew by an average of 16 percent annually.

Between 1999 and 2003 coal was Colombia's main export good, measured by mass, at 57%.

Accidents

In 2016, according to the Agencia Nacional de Minería ( National Mining Authority , ANM), 114 mining accidents (not only in coal mining) with 124 deaths were registered in Colombia. From January to May 2017 there were 28 mining accidents in Colombia (three fifths of them in coal mines) with 23 dead and 33 injured. The number of illegal coal mines has increased in recent years. In June 2017, at least eight people were killed and one injured in an “illegal coal mine” in Cucunuba by a methane gas explosion ; five were missing.

Evictions and murders

Threats, evictions, murders - for years paramilitary units have made space for the lucrative coal mining in northeastern Colombia. Between 1996 and 2006 nearly 60,000 people were displaced and 2,600 people were murdered. German energy suppliers have also profited from human rights violations.

The cheap energy from Latin America comes at a high price for the people there: Many were expelled, abducted, or even mistreated and killed in the Cesar province for coal mining. Mining companies are said to have hired paramilitaries to do this. In interaction with landowners and corrupt government officials, they are said to have come across large plots of land in what is now the coal region. The non-governmental organization Pax writes in a report of more than 2,500 targeted killings and nearly 60,000 displaced persons.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Cheap coal from Colombia - pollution and a bloody secret deutschlandfunk.de, accessed on June 24, 2017
  2. ↑ At least eight dead in a mine accident in Colombia orf.at, June 24, 2017, accessed June 24, 2017
  3. ↑ Colombia's coal - Germany's double standard deutschlandfunk.de, accessed on June 24, 2017

swell

  1. ↑ p. 69.
  1. ↑ a b c p. 173.
  2. ↑ p. 158.
  3. ↑ p. 174.
  1. ↑ a b c p. 115
  2. ↑ a b p. 113
  3. ↑ p. 116
  1. ↑ a b c p. 7.
  2. ↑ p. 9.