Colombia puts the brakes on giant Glencore mine as water dries up

A coal mine in Colombia operated by Swiss multinational Glencore is in the crosshairs of the government in Bogota due to its environmental impact.

Trucks carry coal from a pit in Cerrejon, Colombia, the world’s largest open-pit export coal mine, in the Guajira peninsula in northern Colombia, Keystone / Ricardo Mazalan

Colombia’s El Cerrejón is considered the largest open-pit coal deposit in Latin America. Colombian President Gustavo Petro is reportedly seeking a “concerted exit” for Glencore, according to the news portal La Opinion.

The problem is that the site, located in the region of La Guajira on the Carribean Sea,  drains water needed by local indigenous communities, according to La Opinion, which was cited by Swiss news agency Keystone-SDA late Friday. 

  + Spotlight turns to coal at Glencore as pressure mounts on climate plans

Aerial images show the giant craters that have been dug for four decades at the site, located in a desert territory on the shores of the Caribbean Sea, which has been plagued by poverty, corruption and a shortage of drinking water.

Energy transition

Colombia’s first leftist president aspires to lead the nation toward an energy transition, halt the rush to extract raw materials and save the Amazon from the climate crisis. Hence his decision to curb production at El Cerrejón, which he says is draining the water resources of the Wayúu Indians, contrary to the claims of some experts, for whom exploitation of the mine is crucial to the country’s economy.

According to the Colombian economic research group Fedesarrollo, coal accounts for 43% of the gross domestic product (GDP) of the department of Guajira — the size of half of Switzerland — and 0.7% of national GDP.

  + How Glencore does its homework

Glencore is a commodities giant. It is headquartered in Baar, canton Zug, and has a presence in more than 35 countries with 140,000 employees. Its customers are industrial consumers in the automotive, steel, power generation, battery and petroleum industries.

The company also provides services, primarily financing and logistics. In the wake of soaring commodity prices last year, it made a record profit of $17 billion (CHF15 billion Swiss francs at current exchange rates), with revenues reaching a staggering $256 billion.

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