Paso Diablo Coal Mine

From Global Energy Monitor
(Redirected from Paso Diablo Mine)
This article is part of the
Global Coal Mine Tracker, a project of Global Energy Monitor.
Download full dataset
Report an error
Sub-articles:
Related-articles:

The Paso Diablo Mine is a coal mine with a rated production capacity of 8 million tonnes a year, located near Paso Diablo in Zulia State, in the Guasare coal basin.[1]

Location

The map below shows the exact location of the mine.

Loading map...

Background

The Paso Diablo mine holds Venezuela's most significant coal deposits[2][3], encompassing nearly 1.4 billion tonnes of estimated resources as of 2015.[2] The mine is located in Venezuela's Zulia region, whose coal is prized for its low sulfur and ash content and high calorific value.[3] The mine produces both thermal and coking coal.[4]

Ownership

The Paso Diablo mine was originally owned and operated by Carbones del Guasare (CDG), a joint venture between the Venezuelan government and international investors. In 2004, Peabody Energy acquired a 25.5% stake in CDG, previously held by the Australian company RAG Coal International.[4][5] Following the acquisition, Peabody Energy and Anglo American each held a 25.5% share of the Paso Diablo mine, while state-owned Carbones del Zulia SA (Carbozulia) controlled the remaining 49%.[6]

In 2010 Peabody Energy bought the 25.5% stake held by Anglo Coal and transferred 2% to Carbozulia, leaving the Venezuelan government with a 51.63% interest in the joint venture and Peabody Energy with the remaining 48.37%.[6][7]

In late 2013, Venezuela's Minister of Energy refused to renew the mining concession previously granted to Carbones del Guasare, effectively transferring ownership of the Paso Diablo mine to the Venezuelan state.[8]

In 2018, the Venezuelan government declared coal a strategic mineral and authorized Venezuela’s state-owned coal company Carbozulia to form a joint venture known as Carboturven (Carbones Turquía-Venezuela) with the Turkish company Glenmore Proje Insaat, a subsidiary of the British-owned Glenmore Solutions Limited[9][10][11][12]; Carboturven was granted a 20-year license to mine coal in the western state of Zulia, where the Paso Diablo mine is located.[10][13][14] According to Reuters, "One person familiar with the Paso Diablo mine’s operations, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said production had improved since the joint venture was formed." [13][14]

Production

The Paso Diablo mine, together with its companion Norte mine, has been estimated by the US Geological Survey to have a production capacity of 8.3 million tpa (tonnes per annum).[15] In 2004, when Peabody Energy acquired its initial stake in Paso Diablo, the mine was said to be producing 7 to 7.5 million tonnes of coal per year for electricity generators and steel producers.[5] In 2008, the last year for which reliable production figures are available, Peabody Energy reported that the mine produced approximately 4.8 million tonnes of steam coal for export to the United States and Europe.[16] In 2009, Peabody reported deteriorating operating results for the mine, noting that the company anticipated ongoing operating and cash flow issues going forward.[17]

Accurate coal production figures for Paso Diablo have been hard to obtain since the mine was fully nationalized in 2013; however, recent national statistics make it clear that the mine's production has dropped off sharply. While Venezuela’s coal production increased from less than 100,000 tonnes in 1988 to 8 million tonnes in the mid-2000s - making it Latin America’s third-largest coal producer behind Colombia and Brazil - national output had dropped to somewhere between 170,000 and 500,000 tonnes by 2017.[10][13][14][15][18] In 2018, Venezuelan national coal production hit a new low point - with estimates ranging from less than 100,000 tonnes[11] to 200,000 tonnes.[15] Despite a slight rebound in 2019 and 2020[11][18], national coal production has averaged well under 1 million tonnes for the past decade[18][19], making it clear that Paso Diablo mine has continued to operate far short of its stated capacity.

Mining Operations

As of 2009, Peabody Energy, original co-owner of the Paso Diablo Mine, described the mine on its website as follows: "a 6.6 to 8.0 million ton-per-year surface operation that exports coal for electricity generators and steelmakers in North America and Europe. Paso Diablo utilizes the truck-shovel method to access approximately 175 million tonnes of reserves (in the current coal concession) in the Guasare coal basin ... Most coal travels approximately 90 kilometers to the port at Santa Cruz de Mara on Lake Maracaibo ... Peabody markets a proportional amount of the mine's output to customers of seaborne coal seeking high-Btu, low sulfur thermal coal for electricity generation and PCI coal for use in steel production."[20]

Coal is trucked approximately 85 kilometres to an export barge loading terminal at Santa Cruz del Mara export terminal, which is owned by CDG. In a profile on mining in Venezuela, the Consulate General of Denmark states that "a floating storage and transfer station, the Bulk Wayuu, is permanently anchored in Lake Maracaibo to provide additional storage capacity and to perform an efficient ship loading operation. Coal is reclaimed from barges on to Bulk Wayuu and subsequently loaded, via a series of conveyors and discharge systems, into ocean-going vessels docked alongside this facility."[21]

In its 2008 annual report Peabody Energy reported that "the Paso Diablo Mine contributed $5.7 million to segment Adjusted EBITDA in Corporate and Other Adjusted EBITDA and paid a dividend of $19.9 million. At December 31, 2008, our investment in Paso Diablo was $54.2 million."[16] Later in the report, the company explained that the reduced profit from its Venezuela interest was primarily caused by "trucking issues experienced earlier in the year, a temporary shortage of explosives and delays in receiving equipment, which impacted operations."[16]

In its 2010 annual report Peabody stated that lower than expected financial performance originated from "lower productivity, higher operating costs and ongoing labor issues; in addition, we recognized a $34.7 million impairment loss on this investment."[22]

Social & Environmental Impact

Indigenous groups living in the vicinity of the Paso Diablo mine, including the Yukpa, Wayúu, Barí and Japreria, have joined together with environmentalists and other civil society organizations to protest the displacement of local communities, degradation of air and water quality, and negative impacts on human health, biodiversity and climate associated with contamination from the mine.[11][12][23]

Project Details

  • Operator: Carbones del Zulia SA (Carbozulia)[2][24]
  • Owner: PDVSA - Government of Venezuela[3][8][24]
  • Location: Paso Diablo, Zulia, Venezuela
  • GPS coordinates: 11.039603,-72.268181[25]
  • Mine status: Operating
  • Start year: 1987[3][12]
  • Mineable reserves: 1.4 billion tonnes[2]
  • Coal type: Bituminous (Thermal and Metallurgic)
  • Mine size:
  • Mine type: Surface, open pit[2]
  • Capacity: 8 Mtpa (million tonnes per annum)[1]
  • Production: N/A
  • Equipment:
  • Number of employees:

Articles and resources

Related GEM.wiki articles

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 U.S. Geological Survey, "Venezuela - 2006", 2006 Minerals Yearbook, p 16.5
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Escobar, M; Juliao, T.M; Márquez, R.E; Carruyo, G; Martínez, M; Rubio, J; Paredes, J.A; Malandrino, G (August 2015). "Evaluación geoquímico orgánica de carbones de los mantos inferiores de la mina Paso Diablo, Cuenca del Guasare: potenciales rocas madres de petróleo". Revista Técnica de la Facultad de Ingeniería Universidad del Zulia (in español). 38 (2). ISSN 0254-0770.
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Gustavo Ocando Alex y Algimiro Montiel (2021-03-05). "Carbón venezolano, una puerta fallida que Maduro le abrió a China". Fundación Andrés Bello.
  4. 4.0 4.1 "Peabody secures Venezuela mine". Australia's Mining Monthly. December 6, 2004.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  5. 5.0 5.1 "2004 Q2 Form 10-Q: Peabody Energy Corporation (p 8)". US Securities and Exchange Commission. August 6, 2004.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  6. 6.0 6.1 "Govt takes control of Carbones del Guasare coal mine". BNamericas. March 31, 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  7. Peabody Energy, "10K", Peabody Energy, March 2011, page 6. (Pdf)
  8. 8.0 8.1 "Peabody Energy Corporation: Form 10-K - New Annual Report 2014 (p 9)" (PDF). US Securities & Exchange Commission. February 21, 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  9. "Se decreta el carbón como mineral estratégico y se crea la empresa mixta CarboTurven, con Turquía". Observatorio de Ecología Política de Venezuela. September 7, 2018.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  10. 10.0 10.1 10.2 "Exportaciones de carbón venezolano crecen y EE.UU. intensifica sanciones al petróleo". La República. October 13, 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  11. 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 "Indígenas yukpa de los ríos Yaza y Tukuko luchan por sus territorios y contra la minería de carbón en la Sierra de Perijá". Observatorio de Ecología Política de Venezuela. October 20, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  12. 12.0 12.1 12.2 "La Minería de Carbón, una amenaza vigente en el Zulia". Observatorio de Ecología Política de Venezuela. September 17, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  13. 13.0 13.1 13.2 Luc Cohen, Venezuelan coal exports rise as U.S. escalates oil sanctions, Reuters,OCTOBER 13, 2020
  14. 14.0 14.1 14.2 "Exportaciones de carbón venezolano aumentan mientras EEUU intensifica sanciones al petróleo". Infobae. October 13, 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  15. 15.0 15.1 15.2 "2017–2018 Minerals Yearbook: Venezuela (p 31.3)" (PDF). US Geological Survey. 2018.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  16. 16.0 16.1 16.2 "2008 Form 10-K: Peabody Energy Corporation (pp 48, 56)". US Securities & Exchange Commission. February 27, 2009.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  17. "2009 Annual Report (p 43)" (PDF). Peabody Energy Corporation. March 15, 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  18. 18.0 18.1 18.2 "Hard Coal Production: Venezuela". UN Data. Retrieved 2023-01-30.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  19. "Statistical Review of World Energy 2022 | 71st Edition (p 38)" (PDF). BP. June 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  20. Peabody Energy, "Paso Diablo Mine", Peabody Energy website, accessed July 2009.
  21. Consulate General of Denmark, "Mining in Venevuela", undated, accessed August 2011.
  22. Peabody Energy, "Energizing the World: 2010 Annual Report", Peabody Energy, March 2011, page 25.
  23. "The Environmental Cost of Coal Mining in Venezuela". VenezuelAnalysis. December 13, 2004.
  24. 24.0 24.1 "Proyecto: Paso de Diablo". Observatorio de Conflictos Mineros de América Latina. Retrieved 2023-01-29.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  25. "Mina Paso Diablo - Guasare · El Carbón 4048, Zulia, Venezuela". Google Maps. Retrieved 2023-01-30.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)

External resources

External articles