Río Blanco Coal Mine
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Río Blanco Coal Mine (Mina Río Blanco) is an operating coal mine in Landázur, Santander, Colombia.
Location
Table 1: Project-level location details
| Mine Name | Location | Coordinates (WGS 84) |
|---|---|---|
| Río Blanco Coal Mine | Landázur, Santander, Colombia[1] | 6.22910989, -73.80708248 (approximate) |
The map below shows the approximate location of the coal mine:
Project Details
Table 2: Project status
| Status | Status Detail | Opening Year | Closing Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Operating[2] | – | 2015[1] | – |
Table 3: Operation details
| Capacity (Mtpa) | Production (Mtpa) | Year of Production | Mine Type | Mining Method | Mine Size (km2) | Mine Depth (m) | Workforce Size |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1.2[2][1][2] | 0.9 | 2023 | Underground & Surface[1] | Mixed[1] | – | 60.0* | 259.0* |
Table 4: Coal resources and destination
| Total Reserves (Mt) | Year of Total Reserves Recorded | Total Resources (Mt) | Coalfield | Coal Type | Coal Grade | Primary Consumer/ Destination |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| – | – | – | – | Bituminous | Met[1] | – |
Table 5: Ownership and parent company
| Owner | Parent Company | Headquarters |
|---|---|---|
| SRSS Resources Min S.A.S.[1] | SRSS Resources Min SAS [100.0%] | – |
Note: The above sections were automatically generated and are based on data from the Global Coal Mine Tracker May 2026 release.
Ownership Tree
This ownership tree is part of the Global Energy Ownership Tracker, a project of Global Energy Monitor.
Background
Río Blanco Coal Mine (Mina Río Blanco) is an operating coal mine in Landázuri and Vélez, Santander, Colombia.
Río Blanco was a brownfield expansion open-pit and underground metallurgical coking coal mine operating under mining title FHD-161 in the municipalities of Landázuri and Vélez, Santander department. The mine is operated by Invercoal, Uniminex, and Ingeniería Da Shun SAS, with SRSS Resources Min S.A.S. listed as investor and title holder. SRSS/Invercoal is a Colombian mining group with operations in Santander, Boyacá, and Cundinamarca, specialising in the production and commercialisation of metallurgical coking coal and semi-anthracite.[3]
The deposit produced both low-volatile and high-volatile metallurgical coking coal. Proven and probable mineral reserves totalled 12.48 Mt and total resources 43.47 Mt under the ECRR standard as of August 2021. Reported annual production in 2020 was 324,000 tonnes. The stated mine life was 14 years. The mine employed 191 direct workers. Construction began in 2014 and operations commenced in 2015. Total investment was US$84 million, of which US$60 million had been executed as of August 2021. As of August 2021, the mine was in active exploitation while simultaneously undertaking a brownfield expansion to increase production capacity. The project was designated a Proyecto de Interés Regional Estratégico (PIRE) by Colombia's Ministry of Mines and Energy, and was enrolled in the ANM's VETA technical assistance programme.[4]
As of 2023, Invercoal reported that Río Blanco and its second open-pit operation, the Popayán mine, were jointly producing 45,000 tonnes per month of coking coal and 30,000 tonnes per month of semi-anthracite. That year the company launched an investment programme targeting an increase in combined coking coal production to 100,000 tonnes per month within one to two years.[3]
Licensing Status
The mine held an approved environmental licence from the Corporación Autónoma Regional de Santander (CAS), granted under Resolution DGL No. 00001162 of October 21, 2010. The PTO had been approved by the ANM under Resolution GTRB No. 144 of July 28, 2011. Mining title FHD-161, a Concession Contract (Law 685), was registered on August 23, 2005 and listed as active in the ANM national mining registry as of March 2026, held by SRSS Resources Min S.A.S.[4][5]
Environmental and Social Context
The Río Blanco project faced sustained community opposition from its earliest stages. In 2014, residents of the Río Blanco area in Landázuri and Vélez established a five-month blockade at the Río Blanco bridge to prevent mining equipment from entering the concession area. In December 2014, Colombian riot police (ESMAD) forcibly removed the protesters; campesino leaders reported disproportionate use of force and criminalisation of the protest, with criminal charges brought against several community members who were released in August 2015.[6] Community and environmental organisations raised concerns that the concession area overlapped with the Distrito de Manejo Integrado of Parque Nacional Serranía de los Yariguíes and with the Reserva Forestal del Río Magdalena, established under Law 2 of 1959, which prohibits mining in such zones. CAS, the regional environmental authority, maintained that the licence was granted for operations in Landázuri only.[6]
Articles and Resources
Additional data
To access additional data, including an interactive map of world coal mines, a downloadable dataset, and summary data, please visit the Global Coal Mine Tracker on the Global Energy Monitor website.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 (PDF) https://mineriaencolombia.anm.gov.co/sites/default/files/docupromocion/Proyecto%20R%C3%ADo%20Blanco%2008%202021.pdf.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 https://invercoal.com/about-us/.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ 3.0 3.1 "About Us". Invercoal. Retrieved March 27, 2026.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Proyecto Río Blanco" (PDF). Agencia Nacional de Minería. August 25, 2021. Retrieved March 27, 2026.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Búsqueda de Títulos y Solicitudes – AnnA Minería". Agencia Nacional de Minería. Retrieved March 27, 2026.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Denuncian atropellos contra campesinos de Santander que se oponen a extracción de carbón". Vanguardia. Retrieved March 27, 2026.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
