The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) attacked the railway of Columbia's largest coal exporter Cerrejon LLC, exploding 250 meters of track and derailing a coal train on Sunday, December 18. According to reports, coal exports have been halted until Wednesday, December 21. No one was injured during the attack.
Cerrejon, owned by BHP Billiton, Anglo American and Xstrata, produces 32 million mt of coal per year. The attack is said to cause a loss of 10,000 mt of coal exports a day and approximately $4 million.
Julian Gonzalez, Cerrejon's vice president of public affairs, said that the export target of the mine is threatened, but they are optimistic about meeting the target depending on weather conditions.