Company has interrupted production at its Timbopeba mine and part of its Alegria mine after prosecutors ordered the evacuation of an area around the nearby Xingu dam.
Cerrejon, jointly owned by BHP, Anglo American and Glencore, has had repeated disagreements with nearby Wayuu indigenous communities and its largest union, which held a three-month strike last year.
Preliminary testing carried out by the University of British Columbia shows the Turnagain nickel project has potential for significant mineral sequestration of CO2.