coal miners operating in Colombia

For months, coal miners operating in Colombia have warned that new regulations paired with delays in environmental approvals have began to affect production and damage the embattled local mining industry even further.In fact, production at the world's fourth largest coal exporting nation dropped 4% to 85.5 million tons last year, below its 89 million target. While not dramatic, the drop is costly for both private companies and the Colombian government, which counts on mining royalties and taxes calculated largely on the amount of coal produced.On top of that, the nation’s Large Scale Mining Association, which represents 13 of the country’s largest miners, such as Cerrejón, Cerro Matoso, AngloGold Ashanti and Drummond, recently denounced that there are about $7.3 billion of expected investments currently stalled.Coal shipments account for 12% of the Colombia's total exports, placing them second to oil, which makes up 40% of all exports. Exports of the commodity now outpace the South American country's more well-known products, such as coffee and bananas. While the country’s government have not offered an explanation for why the tariff failed to raise revenue, analyst say it is likely because the original tax was modified by BHP, Rio, Glencore Xstrata and the Gillard Government to allow the inclusion of market values for mines.That allowed mining companies to claim depreciation from a valuation that includes the rent that is supposed to be taxed. Thus, it is neutralized,” says the Macro Business blog.Miners praise Alberta for its transparent and productive approach to mining policy. The province offers competitive taxation regimes, sound legal systems, and relatively low uncertainty around land claims. That’s what miners look for,” said Kenneth Green, Fraser Institute senior director of energy and natural resources.