According to South American news service EFE, the company must complete its port enhancements to the new system, which became a mandated addition on January 1, before exporting can resume.

Sarmiento travelled to Santa Marta Wednesday to verify Drummond’s alleged noncompliance with the new laws. The ban went into immediate effect.

“There'll be no more coal loading (of ships) using barges at any port in the country,” she told media outlets.

“This not only applies to the company Drummond, but to any company that tries to export coal," Sarmiento said.

She noted that the decision was “very costly” for the Andean nation, which depends significantly on royalty revenues, but added that allowing loading via the old method will continue to put the country at environmental risk.

The decision is a turnaround from claims the government made last month that it would issue daily fines to Drummond or any other producer not in compliance with the automated loading laws.

The stoppage also hits Drummond hard just weeks after it was fined $3.5 million for a January coal spill off the Carribean coast; crews have said that they dumped coal overboard to keep a vessel from sinking into the sea.

Sarmiento said that if Drummond continues to balk the regulations, it will act as police to enforce the mandates, which will “aggravate its situation,” she said.

“If they [Drummond] don't do things properly, we'd prefer not to have this money, and they have to learn that Colombia must be respected,” she said, noting that the company has had plenty of notice – about seven years – regarding the rules.

Drummond produces around a third of Colombia's coal; the country is one of Europe’s biggest suppliers.

According to Reuters, the ban will not have an impact on the country’s other major coal player, Cerrejon, as the complex is already using the new system for its loading.