Santa Cruz de Mara Coal Terminal
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The Santa Cruz de Mara coal terminal is a coal export terminal in Zulia, Venezuela.
The terminal is owned and operated by Carbones del Guasare (CDG). It exports coal from the Paso Diablo Mine, the largest coal mine in Venezuela.
Location
Background
Coal exports from the Paso Diablo mine first began in 1987.[1] Coal was trucked approximately 85 kilometres from the mine to the Santa Cruz de Mara export terminal, whose storage yard could accommodate 80,000 tonnes of coal and whose annual coal throughput capacity was estimated at 6 to 7 Mtpa (million tonnes per annum).[2]
From the terminal, barges transported the coal to the Bulk Wayuu, a floating coal transshipment terminal permanently anchored in Lake Maracaibo. The Bulk Wayuu featured 60,000 tonnes of onboard storage and three mobile conveyor belts with a loading capacity of 1600 tonnes per hour, allowing for the efficient loading of ocean-going ships up to 70,000 tonnes.[2][3]
In 2014, the terminal's contract with the Bulk Wayuu's owner was terminated, based on the mine's low profitability and Carbones del Guasare's lack of foreign currency, and the Bulk Wayuu, already nearing the end of its useful life, was scrapped.[4] The impacts of these events on the future of the Santa Cruz de Mara terminal were not immediately clear.
In October 2020 Reuters reported that shipments of coal from Zulia were moving to Europe through the Maracaibo area, despite pressure and tension from U.S. government sanctions.[5][6] While Reuters did not identify Santa Cruz de la Mara as the coal shipment point, more recent sources appear to indicate that the Santa Cruz de la Mara terminal remains Carbozulia's main hub for coal exports.
Multiple news reports in 2025 and 2026 mentioned Venezuela's ongoing efforts to develop overseas markets for coal[7][8], and continued to mention Santa Cruz de la Mara as the export processing point for coal from the Paso Diablo mine[7][9], implying that the Santa Cruz de la Mara terminal was still operating. As of April 2026, Carbozulia continued to list only a single shipping terminal on its webpage, in the municipality of Mara[10], and as of September 2026, Google Maps still listed Santa Cruz de la Mara as Carbozulia's transport and loading terminal in the Maracaibo area.[11]
Project Details
- Operator: Carbones del Guasare[2] (51% owned by Carbozulia[12])
- Location: Zulia, Venezuela
- Annual Coal Capacity (Tonnes): 7 million[2]
- Status: Operating[7][9]
- Type: Exports
- Sources of coal: Paso Diablo Mine, Venezuela[2]
Articles and resources
Related GEM.wiki articles
References
- ↑ "Reseña Histórica". Carbozulia S.A. Retrieved 2026-09-25.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 "Plan de Infraestructura de Transporte y Portuaria para el Desarrollo Minero en Colombia: Informe Final Módulo II (p 193)" (PDF). UPME (Unidad de Planeación Minero Energética). 2004-09-08.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ Consulate General of Denmark, "Mining in Venevuela", undated, accessed August 2011.
- ↑ "Annual Report 2014 (p 7)" (PDF). Coeclerici. 2015-03-30.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ Luc Cohen (2020-10-13). "Venezuelan coal exports rise as U.S. escalates oil sanctions". Reuters. Retrieved 2021-07-21.
- ↑ "Venezuelan Coal Exports Rise as U.S. Escalates Oil Sanctions". The Rio Times. 2020-10-13. Retrieved 2026-09-25.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 "Buscan nuevos mercados para el carbón del Zulia". Últimas Noticias. 2026-05-25. Retrieved 2026-09-25.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "En busca de ingresos y pese a temores ambientales, Venezuela impulsa producción de carbón". El Destape. 2025-10-20. Retrieved 2026-09-25.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ 9.0 9.1 "La explotación carbonífera de Carbozulia amenaza la seguridad hídrica del occidente zuliano". El Nacional. 2025-07-28.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Dirección de Plantas - Carbozulia - Terminal de Transporte y Embarque, Municipio Mara". Ministerio del Poder Popular de Desarrollo Minero Ecológico e Industrias Básicas (in español). Retrieved 2026-09-25.
- ↑ "Terminal de Transporte y Embarque de Carbozulia • Santa Cruz de Mara, Zulia, Venezuela". Google Maps. Retrieved 2026-09-25.
{{cite web}}: no-break space character in|title=at position 50 (help)CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "CARBOZULIA pase a detentar la propiedad del cincuenta y uno por ciento (51,00%) del capital social suscrito y en circulación de CARBONES DEL GUASARE, S.A. (p 3)" (PDF). Gaceta Oficial de la República Bolivariana de Venezuela. 2011-03-31.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
