A company official told Reuters late Thursday that it would only start building its conveyor over the coming few weeks and needed 16-18 months to finish.

CNR is wholly owned by GS and has two mines in the South American country, as well as its own port and a holding in the Fenoco railway.

The source told Reuters that the miner was looking into its only other viable alternative to keep exports running, which was to pay rival Glencore and its Prodeco arm to use capacity at its port.

That facility already has the compliant belt structure in place.

“We are seeing what is best regarding coal prices and what they are offering,” the anonymous source said.

“No decision has been taken.”

It is not known what discussions have already taken place or what stage negotiations may be in.

With the new regulations, Colombia’s coal exports could fall by one-third or even more over the coming months since all noncompliant ports have been ordered to idle until the systems are complete.

Government officials previously said that companies would be fined for each day of noncompliance, but changed its stance late last week when the Colombian environmental minister visited Drummond’s port facility in Santa Marta.

Drummond has also been ordered to cut off all exporting following allegations it was acting out of compliance. The miner’s system is reportedly expected to be complete in March.

Colombia is the fourth largest coal exporter in the world, and a top exporter to Europe.

According to Reuters, CNR produced about 3.5Mt of coal in 2013, or about 4% of the projected 82Mt total for all of the country over the year.