By Julia Symmes Cobb BARRANCABERMEJA, Colombia, July 9 (Reuters) - The hulking backhoe dredges up rocks and silt from the shallows of the muddy Magdalena River in the first laborious step to transform the waterway into an engine of economic growth. The excavation along a verdant stretch near Barrancabermeja, an inland oil and coal hub, is part of a $600 million … [Read more...]
Colombian Navy Divers Discover Cocaine Haul Near Rudder of U.S.-Bound Tanker
The Colombian Navy has seized over 220 pounds of cocaine and apprehended two stowaways from a U.S-bound tanker in Cartagena Bay. The drugs were discovered by Navy divers inside a secret compartment located near the rudder of the Cyprus-flagged "Prisco Alexander". Also found inside the compartment were the two stowaways, both Colombian nationals, and plastic bags containing … [Read more...]
560 Miles of Dredging Means Access to a Lot of Colombian Coal
May 28 (Bloomberg) -- Colombia’s plan to dredge its biggest river could boost coking coal output fivefold, according to the government agency overseeing the project, potentially exacerbating a global glut of the steelmaking ingredient. Ecopetrol SA and Pacific Rubiales Corp., the country’s two largest oil producers, are also supporting the Magdalena River dredging project, … [Read more...]
Drummond Barge Carrying Construction Material Wrecked in Colombia
BOGOTA, April 13 (Reuters) - A barge carrying construction materials for U.S.-based Drummond Co Inc, Colombia's second biggest coal miner, was shipwrecked at the company's port late last week, the company said on Sunday, causing leakage of some diesel fuel into the sea. Drummond only recently reopened the port in northern Colombia after the government had shut down … [Read more...]
Whistle-Blower Behind Coal Rally Heralds Colombian Shift
By Andrew Willis Jan. 22 (Bloomberg) -- European utilities paying more to burn coal this winter is a sign of progress in Colombia, according to Alejandro Arias, whose environmental activism is helping provoke stricter pollution controls on miners. The 45-year-old lawyer photographed Drummond Co. loading coal on open barges a day after the practice was banned for spreading … [Read more...]