“What will happen to Cesar, Colombia when the mines leave?” — April 5, 2021

… Coal mines have caused environmental devastation to the Cesar department of Colombia. But now that the Swiss mining company Glencore announced that they will withdraw from the department, where they operate two mines, residents fear that the company will skip out on its legal obligations to the affected communities… On February 4, one of the three multinational corporations, Prodeco (a subsidiary of the Swiss mining giant Glencore), announced they were returning their mining contracts to the Colombian government and halting operations in Colombia. The company said the low price for coal has made their operations “economically unviable.” Many living in Cesar’s mining corridor are uneasy, as it isn’t clear who will assume the responsibility of Prodeco’s environmental and social liabilities or what will replace this source of employment and royalties for local governments… “The country runs the risk that this company will leave without having given a plan to close the mine, which is mandatory, and without resolving the social and environmental problems that it generated during its time here, as communities and organizations have denounced for years,” read a communiqué signed by dozens of Colombian civil society organizations and Colombian Lawmakers.