Drummond Seeks Partner To Invest In Colombia Coal Mines

21st Jul 2010 18:06

BOGOTA (Dow Jones)--Alabama-based Drummond Co. hired Bank of America Merrill Lynch to find a partner to invest in its coal mines in Colombia, the company said Wednesday in a statement. Drummond currently operates two coal mines in Colombia. The first one, called Pribbenow, is located in La Loma, in the Cesar province. It produces around 20 million tons of coal annually. The other, El Descanso, also located in Cesar province, will produce about 3 million tons of coal this year, the statement said. The company plans to boost its output in El Descanso to 25 million tons over the next three years and it plans to invest in technology in Pribbenow. The company also plans to invest in port facilities in the town of Cienaga, on the Caribbean coast, to export the coal it produces, the statement said. Drummond, which exports all the coal it mines, didn't specify the amount of money the partner would invest in the projects. Coal is Colombia's second-largest legal export, following oil and processed oil products. Coal sales abroad brought in $5.42 billion last year, up from $5.04 billion in 2008. Colombia is the largest coal exporter in Latin America. Drummond is the country's second-largest producer after Carbones del Cerrejon LLC, which is jointly owned by London-listed Xstrata PLC (XTA.LN), Anglo American PLC (AAUKY, AAL.LN) and BHP Billiton (BHP, BHP.AU), each of which own 33.3%. -By Inti Landauro, Dow Jones Newswires; 57-1-694 00 76; [email protected] (END) Dow Jones Newswires July 21, 2010 13:06 ET (17:06 GMT)