Colombian Village Fears Closure Of Small Coal Mines That Have Sustained Them
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Miners leave the tunnel after their shift at La Flauta coal mine in Tausa, Colombia, Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2013. Tausa residents fear that La Flauta will be closed if authorities declare the area a nature reserve in which mining is prohibited. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara) (AP2013)
Armando Pinzon smiles toward the camera as he rests from working at at La Flauta coal mine in Tausa, Colombia, Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2013. Pinzon said he has worked for five years at La Flauta, a small-scale mine that extracts coal to bake into coke, an essential ingredient in the iron and steel industry, and that he earns an average of $600 dollars a month. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara) (AP2013)
A worker unloads a wheelbarrow on a pile of coal at La Flauta coal mine in Tausa, Colombia, Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2013. La Flauta mine, a small-scale, artisan mine that allows farmers to supplement their meager incomes, is located in an area under consideration for a nature reserve by the Environment Ministry. If declared a nature reserve, residents fear the mine would be closed. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)
Miners look toward the camera as they stand in the mine shaft of La Flauta coal mine in Tausa, Colombia, Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2013. If La Flauta is closed everyone here would be left without work, said Tausa Mayor Javier Pachon. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara) (AP2013)
Miners rest inside the tunnel of La Flauta coal mine in Tausa, Colombia, Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2013. Residents of this remote municipality in central Colombia hope authorities dont close the small coal mines that have sustained them for as long as anyone can remember. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara) (AP2013)
A worker pushes a wheelbarrow of coke at La Flauta coking coal mine in Tausa, Colombia, Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2013. Tausa has less than 1,000 residents, few streets, a cold climate and villagers must hike on foot for half an hour each day to reach the La Flauta mine. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara) (AP2013)
A worker inspects an oven at La Flauta coking coal mine in Tausa, Colombia, Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2013. La Flauta is a small-scale mine that extracts coal to bake into coke, an essential ingredient in the iron and steel industry. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara) (AP2013)