Colombia: under the magnifying glass one of the world’s largest coal deposits

The largest open pit coal deposit in Latin America is under the magnifying glass Colombia. Critical of its impact on water, the president Gustavo Petro search one “arranged departure” from the Swiss company that obtains the mineral in a poor region whose indigenous people suffer from thirst.

Aerial images show the gigantic craters that multinationals have dug in El Cerrejón for four decades in La Guajira, a desert territory on the shores of the Caribbean Sea, hit by poverty (67.4%), corruption and shortage of drinking water.

Colombia’s first leftist president aspires to lead the country to an energy transition, stop extractivism and save the Amazon in the face of the climate crisis.

For this purpose, he wants to stop the production of El Cerrejón, which, he denounces, is drying up the water sources of the Wayúu indigenous people, contrary to some experts who highlight the importance of one of the largest mines in the world for the country’s economy.

Its coal represents 43% of La Guajira’s GDP and 0.7% of the national GDP, according to the Fedesarrollo research center.

After a visit in August by his Swiss counterpart, Alain Berset, Petro said he had discussed with him a “concerted exit” from the multinational Glencore, which closed the total purchase of El Cerrejón in 2022.

Previously, Petro had declared the “economic, social and ecological emergency” in La Guajira. The measure requires “conserve and maintain the natural course of water sources”affected, according to complaints, by “an economic system that privileged mining.”

It also prohibits “add or extend mining concession contracts or authorize expansions, extensions or new exploitation fronts of coal mining projects.”

Crucial funds

A staunch defender of the environment in international forums, Petro has its attention on El Cerrejón, which occupies 69,000 hectares of the Ranchería River basin, with at least 12,000 employees, both direct and indirect, and a concession contract until February 2034.

The president assures that most of the water is taken by the sectors of “agriculture, energy and coal.”

The north of La Guajira suffers from a shortage of drinking water in a desert where temperatures are around 30ºC all year round. Most are supplied with “jagüeys”, huge puddles of rainwater where animals also drink.

In addition to water scarcity, the population of the department suffers from hunger and malnutrition, an illness that kills almost a hundred children every year.

But closing the mine could put the department in even more trouble. Cerrejón is, according to official balances, its largest source of “royalties”a mandatory payment to the State for companies that exploit non-renewable resources.

In 2022, the mine paid out the equivalent of about US$9 billion in income taxes and royalties.

“The budgetary dependence we have on Cerrejón royalties is indisputable. “They are fundamental to supporting vital sectors such as health, water, education and roads” of transportation, the governor in charge, Diala Wilches, acknowledged to Blu Radio.

“However, we support prioritizing water use for communities and are working to ensure a safe transition to new sources of income.”accurate.

Energy transition

Sergio Cabrales, professor at the University of the Andes in Bogotá, explained that “If the extraction of coal from the El Cerrejón mine is abruptly limited or interrupted, a fiscal crisis will arise in the first place (…), which should be compensated with government transfers.”

In the extreme north of South America, the way out of the dilemma could be in the energy transition.

La Guajira, with a wind speed twice the world average and radiation that exceeds the global level by 60%, has been the cradle of wind and solar energy projects. But its application is advancing slowly amid territorial conflicts with indigenous people.

Governor Wilches is cautious: “We are looking to diversify our sources of income, but this must be done in a planned manner to guarantee economic stability,” he stressed.

For Cabrales, an expert in energy transition, the alternative is in “promote tourism, industry and energy generation from renewable sources.”

But this requires “time, national and international investment, as well as greater leadership”critical.

Asked about its position regarding the Petro project, El Cerrejón said that “is committed to continuing to operate in a responsible manner with the environment and communities” until the end of his contract in 2034.

In documents shared by the company, they claim not to use drinking water in coal extraction and, instead, say they have several projects to protect aquifers and surrounding communities.

Source: AFP