BOGOTA - Colombian coal miner Cerrejon's production jumped 89% last year to 23.4-million tonnes, the company said in a statement on Monday, recovering from the hit from a three-month strike and the coronavirus pandemic in 2020.
Cerrejon was fully bought by top global miner and trader Glencore last year, as the Swiss-based company snapped up the 66% of Cerrejon shares it did not yet own from rivals BHP Group and Anglo American.
A Cerrejon spokesperson said they had no export figures to share.
"2021 was a year of recovery, where the priority was the health and safety of our collaborators. 2022 has begun with the acquisition of Cerrejon on the part of Glencore, which is a demonstration of confidence in us and the country," Cerrejon CEO Claudia Bejarano said in the statement.
Colombia is a major global exporter of coal and royalties and taxes from the fuel are a top contributor to government coffers.
The government has not yet published official mining output figures for last year, but the energy minister has predicted coal output will have recovered 20% from the year before.
The private Colombian Mining Association has said coal production rose to 59.6 million tonnes in 2021, up from 49.3-million tonnes the prior year.