Brazil’s prominent Vale corporation is pushing ahead with a $US1.3 billion project to develop the Moatize coal mine in Mozambique and expects to start production of coking coal for export late in 2011. At the recent Coaltrans South Africa conference held in Sandton, South Africa, Vale’s finance general manager Fabio Bechara was quoted saying that the initial box cut for the open cast mine would start in the second quarter of 2011.

Following completion of detailed engineering studies at the end of June 2009, initial earthworks and civil construction on the coal preparation plant were begun. Some 3,500 workers are working on the project. Considerable endeavour has gone into relocating and resettling some 5,000 local people living in the mining area.

During phase one, all exports are to be handled through the port of Beira but in subsequent phases it is expected that the harbour at Nacala will need to play an important role.

Capacity of the 575km railway from Beira to Moatize, recently rehabilitated, is estimated at between 6mt and 8mt of coal annually. This falls a long way short of Vale’s long term requirements – and there are also other potential coal producers in the Moatize region.

Rail access to Nacala, to be gained by constructing a new rail connection to Malawi (from where an existing line – which will require upgrading – runs to the port), will be needed in about five years’ time, Vale says.

Plans to build a coal-fired power station in the Moatize regionare constrained, Bechara says, by the inadequacy of transmission lines to get the power to consumers elsewhere in Southern Africa. “We have the capacity to produce far more than the 2.5mta of coal needed by a local power station generating 600MW – all the transmission infrastructure can handle at present, withoutcostly expansions,” he explains.

For more information visit:

http://www.vale.com/vale_us/cgi/cgilua.exe/sys/start.htm?infoid=2565&sid=610

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