Bogota, 30 July (Argus) — Colombia's second-largest coal miner, Drummond, plans to almost double coal production and exports to 40mn t by 2013 from 24mn t this year through rapid expansion of its El Descanso Norte mine.

“Strong levels of growth will come from El Descanso but we will continue to produce and export at Pribbenow mine,” Drummond's Colombian operations chief executive Augusto Jimenez said.

Drummond plans to reach production capacity of 25mn t/yr in the next three years at the El Descanso Norte, which is expected to produce 8mn t of coal this year. Drummond exported 19.8mn t last year. El Descanso Norte covers 80,000 hectares (800km²) and has reserves of 1.85bn t.

The company began exporting coal to China in February but Jimenez declined to say how much it has exported to the Pacific Rim. China may import 130mn t of coal by 2019, he said.

“To export to China, we have to go through South Africa. It is not the most efficient route in terms of costs,” Jimenez said. Indonesia, Australia and South Africa are the natural suppliers of coal to China, but Colombia has become an alternative to Asia because of competitive coal prices, he said.

Drummond's export business will benefit from the expansion of the Panama Canal, which will handle 200,000t vessels. Cerrejon, Colombia's largest coal exporter, will also benefit from the expansion. Shipping Colombian coal to China and India will be reduced to 31 days using the Panama Canal, compared with 34 days now, Cerrejon's legal director Jorge Alvarez said.

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