Coal was first discovered in 1865 near Santa Marta Bay, and subsequently other deposits. Most important just now are the beds near Cali, which are thought to be very extensive, and to extend through the mountains to the Pacific slope. It is said that enough coal could be mined to supply the neighboring Republics as well as Colombia. The probable supply is estimated at 27 million tons. The character of coal in the country varies from lignite to bituminous. A wide vein of cannel coal leads from the Nevada de Santa Marta towards the Goajira Peninsula; an anthracite deposit 25 feet thick extends 50 miles north and south near the Gulf of Urabá. Coal deposits exist for a distance of 300 miles north and south of Bogotá near the East Cordillera, others in the formation of the Central and West Ranges. One bed near Cali in places is 22 feet thick. Coal beds in three layers are cut by the Amagá Railway, and the locomotives are fired on the track.
Petroleum exists in quantity indefinite, but hardly to be overestimated. The great tract of country extending several hundred miles back from the entire south shore of the Caribbean apparently contains a collection of oil reservoirs which may exceed in magnitude those of any other section of the Western Hemisphere. Nowhere else in the world, it is said, is there so great a display of seepages and of petroliferous mud volcanoes.
Colombia presents three more or less distinct regions with various fields in which operations have been conducted; others in which the surface indications will doubtless incite to careful examination in the future. The three well known regions are the Caribbean, the Magdalena, and the Maracaibo; the last two are also spoken of together as the Magdalena-Santander Field, since an oil belt extends from Venezuela south-southwest across Santander and the Magdalena River. But as a mountain range separates the Maracaibo Basin from the Magdalena Valley, the two are quite distinct.
The Caribbean Region which extends along the coast from Riohacha to the Gulf of Urabá has 300 or more square miles of supposedly productive territory. Many American companies have obtained concessions; more than 100 are organized for the exploitation of this and other districts. So rapidly have sections been taken up that a considerable part of the coastal tract west of the Magdalena is already occupied. British interests also have acquired extensive holdings in the Republic. Emissions of gas occur in many places, this being the first country in South America where large amounts have been observed. Among the petroliferous mud volcanoes is the largest known anywhere. In the Tubara field is a well 3000 feet deep from which enormous quantities of gas came off. It has been proposed to pipe the gas to Barranquilla for use in the city.
The Magdalena pool or region extends along the river valley for several hundred miles. The fields already occupied are mainly on the east side. In this section the first oil gusher of Colombia was brought in not far from Barranca Bermeja, about 400 miles south of Barranquilla. A second well 2270 feet deep shot oil over the derrick several hours before it could be capped. It was rated at from 2000 to 20,000 barrels daily. Steady flow is estimated at 6000 to 8000 barrels daily. The oil, which is dark with some asphalt, gives about 30 per cent gasoline, 6 of kerosene, 20 lubricating oil, and 12 asphalt. A pipe line and wagon road are being constructed from the three wells drilled near the Colorado River 35 miles to Barranca Bermeja where a refinery has been erected. It is said that this is to supply Colombia with gasoline, kerosene, and lubricants at prices not above those of New York. The use of residual fuel oil on the river steamers will greatly facilitate their operation. It is likely that a larger refinery will be erected at Cartagena or as rumored on an island at the mouth of the Magdalena, but the cost of reported pipe lines 300 or 400 miles long in this region would be prohibitive. Tank steamers will well serve the purpose.
Higher up the river near Honda is the Tolima field where live seepages occur and a well has been drilled. [Many locations have been secured in a stretch of several hundred miles along the valley.] This field includes the upper Magdalena Basin, with which are classed the groups on the edge of the San Martín and Casanare plains east of the Cordillera. In the Orinoco Basin oil has been seen floating on the surface of the rivers.
The Maracaibo Basin, which is chiefly in Venezuela, has a section running over into Colombia where the Barco concession is located. An area of more than a million acres is occupied by an American company. Here oil seepages include some wonderful springs. Oil from one of these runs a small refinery which produces 25 barrels a day. The oil with a loss of only 1.1 per cent is said essentially to match the high grade Pennsylvania oil, selling for $4.00 a barrel at the well. Wells were first drilled on the Venezuelan side of the Rio de Oro, tributary to the Catatumbo; later on the Colombian side.
There is further a Pacific district extending north and south from Buenaventura a distance of 60 or 70 miles, from Quibdó on the Atrato to Cali on the Cauca with a small section on the coast. The probable productive area is 18 miles but none is proved.
The location of these extensive deposits, many within 200 miles of tide water, is of prime importance to the commercial world, especially because of their proximity to the Panamá Canal, soon to be one of the great shipping routes of the world. Moreover the port of Cartagena, which already has several refineries and will serve as the chief depot of export and supplies, is nearer to New York than is Tampico by 400 miles, than Galveston, Texas, by 50 miles. It is also much nearer to London, to Panamá, and to our own Pacific Coast. Clearly, the development of the petroleum deposits of Colombia is of the greatest interest and importance to the United States. It is believed that its oil fields will equal or surpass those of Peru.
Platinum. At the moment the greatest mining wealth is in gold, with a good bit in platinum. Over $2,000,000 worth of the latter was exported in 1917. Platinum, usually with gold, is found in rivers near the Pacific: the Atrato, Condoto, Platina, and San Juan. Operations have been carried on in several districts. The concessions of an American company include a tract on the San Juan and one on its tributary Condoto and its branches, with holdings north and east of the river deposits. By means of a small wood burning dredge with annual capacity of but 250,000 cubic yards, about $600,000 worth of platinum was obtained in 1918 when the Government price was fixed at $105 an ounce. With a second and larger dredge now operating and a third expected soon, much greater production will be realized. In 1920 the value fluctuated from $70 to $165 an ounce. In June, 1921, it was $75. The value of the two tracts is estimated at $52,000,000 at the former Government price. Costs are little greater than in the California and New Zealand fields, and with suitable precautions taken in the way of drainage, mosquito netting, etc., as at Panamá, and with good medical attendance, health conditions have been made about the same as on the Isthmus. Extraordinary platinum values have been shown; the gravel handled in 1918 furnishing $2.50 gold and platinum per cubic yard. The extensive use of platinum in dental work, in jewelry, and for important though limited service in certain manufactures, in sheet, wire, and granulated form, indicates an annual need of 165,000 ounces in the United States alone. A unique opportunity is offered in Colombia for the production of this valuable metal.