Colombia sets coal output record in 2016

Colombia set a new annual coal production record in 2016, while nickel, platinum, gold, silver and emeralds also gained, the government said

Colombia, Latin America's largest coal producer, boosted output of the commodity 5.8% to 90.5Mt last year, the national mining agency said in a statement.

Coal miners Cerrejón, Drummond, Prodeco and Colombian Natural Resources help spur production.

"This is an unprecedented historic milestone. These results are evidence of the reactivation of the sector and its resilience faced with major challenges such as juridical instability, social conflicts and illegal mining," energy and mines minister Germán Arce said in the statement.

Prices around US$90/t also represent a major lifeline for the coal industry, which started last year with very low prices, he added.

Platinum gained 6.6% to 29,481oz, the agency said. Nickel output climbed to 81.8Mlb at the Cerro Matoso mine, owned by BHP Billiton spin-off South32.

Gold production rose 4.5% to 1.99Moz, the agency said. Vancouver-based Red Eagle Mining began production at its US$55mn San Ramón gold mine last year.

Silver production climbed 2.7% to 335,248oz, while emeralds totaled 2.03mn carats, up 14% from a year earlier, the agency said. Iron ore fell 5.8% to 715,692t, the agency said, without providing a comparison with last year's figures.

Colombia produced 80.8Mlb nickel, 1.9Moz gold, 326,482oz silver, 27,669oz platinum, 1.78mn carats of emeralds and 901,736t iron ore in 2015, when the mining industry had to cope with strikes, border issues and attacks on mining railway lines, according to an earlier report.

Companies including AngloGold Ashanti, Eco Oro Minerals and Continental Gold have lined up gold, silver and copper mining projects in Colombia.