La Francia

La Francia is a coal mine in the Cesar-Ranchería Basin, located in the municipalities Becerril and El Paso, Cesar, Colombia owned by the Goldman Sachs Group. It mines coal from the Paleocene Los Cuervos Formation, time-equivalent with the Cerrejón Formation, which is mined in the northeastern part of the basin in Latin America's largest coal mine, Cerrejón. In 2016, La Francia produced 11.6 Megatons of coal.[1]

La Francia
Location
La Francia
LocationBecerril & El Paso
Cesar-Ranchería Basin
DepartmentCesar
Country Colombia
Coordinates 09°40′16.6″N 73°46′26.5″W
Production
ProductsCoal
Production11.6 Megatons
Financial year2016
TypeCoal mine
History
Opened2000 (2000)
Active2000-2010 (Coalcorp)
2010-2013 (Goldman Sachs)
2013-2014 (Operations suspended)
2014+ (Reopening)
Owner
CompanyGoldman Sachs
Year of acquisition2010

History

The mine was owned by Coalcorp Mining until 2010.[2] It was acquired for US$200 million in 2010.[2] It is owned by Goldman Sachs through their Colombia-based subsidiary, Colombian National Resources.[3]

It closed in January 2013 after the contractor hired by Colombian National Resources opted out,[4] but opened again in January 2014, at a lesser capacity.[3] By August 2014, it was in talks to be acquired by investor Mick Davis.[5]

During the strikes of 2013, miners occupied the mine and refused offers provided by the companies involved.[6]

References
  1. (in Spanish) Producción de carbón en Colombia - UPME
  2. UPDATE 1-Coalcorp to sell La Francia mine to Goldman unit, Reuters, January 7, 2010
  3. Peter Murphy, Exclusive: Goldman Sachs miner halts coal exports from Colombia, Reuters, January 9, 2014
  4. Matthew Bristow, Colombia's Top Coal Mine Reaches Accord That May End Strike, Bloomberg Business, March 4, 2013
  5. Danny Fortson, Mick the Miner in talks to buy Goldman’s Colombian coal, The Sunday Times, August 17, 2014
  6. (in Spanish) La Francia, mina de carbón lleva meses paralizada


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.