BOGOTA: Colombia's environmental regulator ANLA must inspect new installations at the docks of US coal miner Drummond before it can resume exports, a process which is expected to take only a day, the regulator's chief told Reuters on Wednesday.
The world's No. 4 coal exporter is now believed to be days from returning to normal export volumes that were slashed when the government shut down the port of its second-biggest coal miner in January.
Traders expect it to reopen this week and the company reaffirmed on Wednesday loading would resume this month.
Drummond's port was shut down unexpectedly in January after tighter environmental laws took effect which the facility was not ready to comply with, briefly driving up prices for coal in Europe where most of Colombia's exports are consumed.
Since then, Drummond has been finishing the construction of legally-compliant infrastructure that pours coal straight into ships' holds from a covered conveyor belt, doing away with the now-banned use of cranes and barges that caused pollution.
The port remains shut but several traders and industry sources said a ship was still expected to berth and load this week.
Mining Minister Amylkar Acosta had said earlier this month the port could reopen around March 24. Drummond's Bogota-based press office said in an email that works would finalize before March ends or before next Monday.
Nubia Orozco, director of the environmental licensing agency ANLA, said it had been observing the works at Drummond's port in recent days and that their final approval would likely come quickly, making it possible the port could reopen this week.
"Drummond is in the final phase of the construction to start its process of direct loading. We are visiting them permanently. When they finish construction and are ready we will make a technical inspection," she said.
"We don't think it will take more than one day. We just make sure everything is well done." Orozco added that the inspection could also take place over the weekend if that was necessary.
Drummond has cut its production forecast for 2014 to 25 million to 26 million tonnes, down from a previous forecast of 30 million tonnes. On March 12, Drummond's chief executive for Colombia said the port would reopen before the end of March.
The company produces around one third of Colombia's annual coal output. Expectations that it will resume shipments very soon weighed on European coal prices on Wednesday.
Cargoes for delivery in April to the ports of Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Antwerp (ARA) were trading at $74.75 per tonne by 1401 GMT, down $0.45 from Tuesday's settlement.
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