Colombia’s Argos to sell coal mine

Colombian cement group Argos SA and affiliates have agreed to sell their La Jagua coal mine to Swiss-based commodity trader Glencore International AG, the companies said on Monday.  The sale by Argos and its affiliates Cementos del Caribe SA (CCB.CN) and CI Carbones del Caribe SA will go through on Dec. 31, 2004, the companies said on the Securities Superintendency Web site.  They did not provide a price. An Argos spokesman said the company would not reveal the price of the deal at this time.

La Jagua, which is Carbones’ only operating mine and has been in operation since the mid-1980s, produced 2.3 million tonnes in 2002, the last year for which data was available. But Carbones, Colombia’s third-largest coal miner, said last year it would spend $55 million to boost output to 4.5 million tonnes a year and install an ocean port.

"This deal will allow Compania de Cemento Argos SA and its affiliates to achieve strategic objectives. Among those we should mention concentrating on the cement business, consolidating in the Colombian market and expanding abroad," the companies said.