page_title: Cerrejón
section_title: Operation, installations and operator
hierarchical_section_title: Cerrejón / Operation, installations and operator
caption_attribution_description: English: Image of trucks loading coal. Cerrejon Coal Mines, La Guajira, Colombia. December 2005.
context_page_description: Cerrejón is a large open-pit coal mine in Colombia. It is located in the southeast of the department of La Guajira, close to the border with Venezuela. The coal mine is situated in the northeastern part of the Cesar-Ranchería Basin, the basin of the Ranchería River, between the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta in the west and the Serranía del Perijá to the southeast. At Cerrejón, low-ash, low-sulphur bituminous coal from the Cerrejón Formation is excavated. The mine is one of the largest of its type, the largest in Latin America and the tenth biggest in the world. Cerrejón extends over 690 square kilometres. It is divided into three sections, North Zone, Central Zone and South Zone. Total proven reserves are estimated at 503 megatonnes. In 2016, the mine produced 32,683,315 tonnes.
  In June 2020, lawyers for the local Wayuu community lodged a request to the United Nations special rapporteur for work to be immediately halted over environmental and human rights concerns.
context_section_description: Cerrejón is owned in equal parts by subsidiaries of the international mining companies BHP, Anglo American and Glencore. The mine produces over 32 million tonnes of thermal coal a year and has estimated reserves of over five billion tonnes
  Unique in Colombia, the mine has an integrated railway line and shipping terminal, which gives increased efficiency and lower environmental impact. As well exporting coal, the port and railway are used to transport supplies to the mine.
  The mine has maintenance workshops of over 26,000 square metres (280,000 sq ft).
caption: Mining operations at one of Cerrejón pits
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