(In first sentence, corrects name to National Mining Agency,not National Mining Association) By Oliver Griffin BOGOTA, Dec 7 (Reuters) - Colombia is preparing tolaunch a national mining company, the president of thegovernment's National Mining Agency (ANM) said on Wednesday,adding that coal mining royalties during the year had more thandoubled.
The government of President Gustavo Petro has pledged toreform the mining sector, ruling out more licenses forlarge-scale open-pit coal mines as it focuses on minerals thatare important for the energy transition, such as copper. Part of that effort will include launching a new state-ownedmining company, starting with an agreement to bring twointernational gold trading companies under control of thegovernment, ANM President Alvaro Pardo told journalists during apress conference in Colombia's capital Bogota. The two companies are currently held by the Special AssetsSociety (SAE), a fund which manages assets seized from criminalsand illegal groups to compensate victims of Colombia's internalarmed conflict. "These two international trading companies are passing overto the mining authority and the idea is to embed them in thenational mining company," Pardo said.
The Ministry of Mines and Energy could sign a memorandum ofunderstanding with the SAE as soon as Monday, Pardo added.
The company will sell "green gold" to European countries,Pardo said, with the national mining company only buying goldfrom miners who produce the yellow metal without using mercuryor cyanide, Pardo said.
The government-run company will put a dent in Colombia'sillegal gold trade, Pardo said, offering considerably higherprices to the country's informal miners than those currentlybuying it.
According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime(UNODC), 65% of Colombia's alluvial gold production last yearwas illegal.
The ANM has extended the contract for South32's Cerro Matoso ferro-nickel mining project by 15 years to 2044, itsaid in a separate statement.
Royalties from coal mining soared in the first 11 months ofthis year despite a substantial drop in production, mainly dueto higher prices and the stronger dollar, Pardo said.
Royalties from coal rose to 4.1 trillion pesos ($850.9million) as of Nov. 30, up from 1.9 trillion pesos in 2021, hesaid. Total mining royalties as of Nov. 30 stood at 4.8 trillionpesos, he added.
($1 = 4,818.32 Colombian pesos) (Reporting by Oliver Griffin; Editing by Diane Craft)
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