The National Mining Agency (ANM) filed two lawsuits against the mining company Prodeco, due to differences that arose in the settlement processes of two thermal coal exploitation contracts in the department of Cesar.
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The lawsuits were filed before the Administrative Court of Cundinamarca. In this sense, they refer to contracts No. 044 of 1989 and No. 285 of 1995, whose owners were the companies CI Prodeco SA and Carbones de la Jagua SA, respectively.
The entity explained that, in February 2021, Prodeco renounced five mining titles. However, in September of the same year, the ANM only accepted the termination of three of these, which were subject to liquidation during the 2023 term. Within the framework of these liquidation processes, differences arose related to assets subject to reversion and the state of the mines
“Once the settlement of the contracts and the definition of the assets that the ANM must revert free of charge to the Nation have been completed, we found differences regarding the assets being reverted and the state of one of the mines in the complex. The Jagua, So we are going to ordinary justice to defend the interest of the Nation and demand full compliance with the contractual obligations of the Prodeco company,” said the president of the ANM, Álvaro Pardo.
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The Agency estimates the amount of the claim at more than 200,000 billion pesos, for the non-full reversion of the assets that were used for the exploitation of the Calenturitas mine (contract No. 044 of 1989) and for the non-preservation and conservation of the mining title, due to the floods that occurred in the La Jagua de Ibirico mine (contract No. 285 of 1995).
The Prodeco Group is the third largest producer of thermal coal in Colombia.
After the definitive closure of his mining operation in Cesar, he explained that his departure occurred because he did not have the accounts from a financial point of view to develop the operation, due to the low price of the mineral in the world.
The cessation of mining activity is significantly evident in La Jagua de Ibirico, since 80 percent of its economic dynamics are derived directly and indirectly from coal exploitation.
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After the closure, the company, a subsidiary of the Swiss multinational Glencore in Colombia, highlighted that the mines would remain under care and maintenance until the formal contract renunciation process is completed.
TIME He tried to communicate with the company to find out its position regarding the demands of the National Mining Agency (ANM), however he reported that at the moment he will not make a statement.
The two lawsuits were filed before the Administrative Court of Cundinamarca.
Photo:Courtesy National Mining Agency
