Drummond mining company executives were received at the Presidential Palace on Monday, 1 April and on its website, the Presidency described the company’s interest as positive for the Dominican economy. An online search, nevertheless, reveals interesting insights into the company.
Indeed, the visit of high-ranking Drummond executives, including CEO Garry Drummond, comes shortly after the recent temporary suspension of the company’s coal export permit in Colombia. The company is suspected of negligence in reporting coal dumping into the sea, polluting the Santa Marta area, a major domestic travel destination.
The Colombian Ministry of Environment suspended the company’s loading license at the port of Santa Marta on 15 February after an investigation found that the company had spilled coal in the Caribbean in January 2013.
El Tiempo, the Colombian newspaper, reports that this was not the first time that the company had been penalized for dumping coal at sea. In 2007, the Ministry of Environment penalized the US mining company again for pollution at sea and not taking appropriate measures for transporting coal.
On 12-13 January 12 2013, Drummond workers reportedly dumped a load of coal into the sea off the northern port of Cienaga to prevent their barge from sinking, claimed Captain Guillermo Diaz, head of the local maritime authority, Global Post reports.
Colombia’s Environment Minister Juan Gabriel Uribe says Drummond could face a US$1.6 million fine and other sanctions for not reporting the alleged incident in time.
The Colombian government restored the company’s export permit in the first week of March, but investigations continue into the alleged dumping of nearly 1,900 metric tons of coal into the sea in mid January 2013. The Colombian authorities will continue to investigate the incident over the next four months to establish whether it was an accident or negligence.
http://presidencia.gov.do/noticia.php?type=release&id=1630
www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/afp/130205/colombia-probes-drummond-over-alleged-coal-dump-0
www.bizjournals.com/birmingham/news/2013/02/08/columbia-pulls-drummonds-port-license.html
www.bizjournals.com/birmingham/news/2013/03/08/drummond-restarts-colombian-exports.html
www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-02-06/colombia-suspends-drummond-ship-loading-license-agency-says.html
www.youtube.com/watch?v=__RkO2YCNec&feature=youtu.be
www.youtube.com/watch?v=tpQL-WPyUUk
www.elcolombiano.com/BancoConocimiento/D/drummond_deberia_compensar_a_santa_marta/drummond_deberia_compensar_a_santa_marta.asp