14 February, 2011
Another methane gas blast inside a Colombian coal mine killed five workers, and seriously injured one. This time it occurred on 1 February at the semi-legal La Escondida colliery in Cunduinamarca department, in a community called Sutatausa, 100 kilometres north of Bogotá.
Last time was only a fortnight ago when 25 miners died 600 metres inside the La Preciosa Ltda. coal mine in Norte de Santander department. That 26 January tragedy now stands as Colombia’s second worst mine disaster in less than a year, behind the San Fernando mine blast on 16 June 2010, where 73 perished in North-West Colombia state.
Following the recent mine deaths, both Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos and Mines and Energy Minister Carlos Rodado Noreiga admitted the country’s Institute of Geology and Mining (Ingeominas) is ill-equipped to handle mine safety and compliance in the nation’s burgeoning mining industry.
Ingeominas has 17 mine inspectors to handle some 6,000 mines that are currently licensed. Roughly 19% are coal operations, with the vast majority of them underground mines operated by small- and medium-sized businesses. The ICEM reminds that Colombia has many illegally operating mines, with estimates that of every 100 mining enterprises, 51 are operated illegally.
The Escondida mine is in an area called Peñas de Boquerón in the central department of Cunduinamarca and was operating under a temporary permit granted by Ingeominas. A day before the tragedy, miners had complained that the ventilation system was not operating adequately and gas levels were rising.
The San Fernando mine blast in June 2010 was Colombia’s worst mining accident in 30 years. A preliminary investigation found breach of existing safety regulations, faulty monitoring and detection devices, lack of training and qualification, and unfamiliar explosives used inside the mine.
The list was even more extensive, with all contributing factors listed as preventable. Colombia’s underground mine safety regulations fall under the out-dated Decree 1335 of 1987, a regulatory code that is easily breached by small- and medium-size companies. The problem is complicated by the fact that Ingeominas has been too quick to award mining licenses without the proper safety culture or safety equipment.
Colombia has become the world’s fifth largest exporter of coal, behind Australia, Russia, South Africa, and Indonesia. There are reported to be 5,800 new mines in various phases of exploration and development and unless the government revamps its internal mine safety structure, and adopts global mine safety standards as outlined in ILO Convention 176, more tragedies are certain to occur.