Brazils Vale to start mining coal in Mozambique this year [...

Brazils Vale to start mining coal in Mozambique this year [ 2010-07-22 ]


Maputo, Mozambique, 22 July The basic structures that will make it possible to start mining coal are around 75 percent finished, said Vale's general manager for Finance and Control, Fbio Bechara in Maputo.

At the closing session of an international coal conference held in the Mozambican capital, Bechara also said that the group had invested over US$719 million in the project so far, and coal mining was expected to begin this year with the first exports scheduled for July, 2011.

Overall, the Moatize coal mining project is expected to cost the Brazilian group some US$1.3 billion.

Brazil, Europe, China, India and Japan are some of the markets identified so far for the coal, exports of which may total 1.2 million tons in 2011, with growth expected as of 2013.

Transporting coal from Tete province will initially be carried out via the Sena railroad, which will only be able to process 6 million tons of cargo per year, and then along the Zambezi river.
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A third option is construction of a railway line linking Tete to the port of Nacala along an estimated 900-kilometre route.

The latter project is seen by many operators as the safe alternative for the Moatize coal project as there is a deep water port in Nacala that will make it possible to transport over 50 million tons of coal per year.

For two days the international conference brought together many international specialists from the coal, iron and steel, energy and transport infrastructure sectors as well as investors and other people interested in coal. (macauhub)