15 AUG, 2012, AFP
MAPUTO: Jindal Steel will begin operations at its Mozambique coal mine on September 1, joining big players Vale and Rio Tinto in the country's coal-rich Tete region, a manager said Wednesday.
"Currently we are looking at three million tonnes per year and will be expanding to 10 million tonnes," Jindal Steel's regional manager Arvind Kuchibhotla told AFP.
The southern African country represents the company's largest overseas operation. The company also has mines in Chile, Bolivia and Indonesia.
Since starting exports last year, Vale has shipped more than one million tonnes and hopes to reach 11 million a year by 2013.
Jindal, one of India's largest steelmakers, will export high-grade coking as well as thermal coal to feed the demand for steel fueling India's growth.
Coal deposits in Tete are estimated to be able to yield 100 million tonnes of coal a year -- one of the biggest unexploited reserves on the planet.
Getting the stuff out has proven a major challenge for foreign consortiums since the mines lie 600 kilometers (370 miles) from the sea and rail infrastructure was blown to pieces during a 16-year civil war, which ended in 1992.
Jindal will truck the mineral to the coast while logistics remain a "challenge", said Kuchibhotla.
It further plans a power plant in the area.
Mozambique, once one of the poorest countries in the world, saw its economy grow by 7.3 percent in the first six months of 2012, mostly on the back of new coal revenues.
MAPUTO: Jindal Steel will begin operations at its Mozambique coal mine on September 1, joining big players Vale and Rio Tinto in the country's coal-rich Tete region, a manager said Wednesday.
"Currently we are looking at three million tonnes per year and will be expanding to 10 million tonnes," Jindal Steel's regional manager Arvind Kuchibhotla told AFP.
The southern African country represents the company's largest overseas operation. The company also has mines in Chile, Bolivia and Indonesia.
Since starting exports last year, Vale has shipped more than one million tonnes and hopes to reach 11 million a year by 2013.
Jindal, one of India's largest steelmakers, will export high-grade coking as well as thermal coal to feed the demand for steel fueling India's growth.
Coal deposits in Tete are estimated to be able to yield 100 million tonnes of coal a year -- one of the biggest unexploited reserves on the planet.
Getting the stuff out has proven a major challenge for foreign consortiums since the mines lie 600 kilometers (370 miles) from the sea and rail infrastructure was blown to pieces during a 16-year civil war, which ended in 1992.
Jindal will truck the mineral to the coast while logistics remain a "challenge", said Kuchibhotla.
It further plans a power plant in the area.
Mozambique, once one of the poorest countries in the world, saw its economy grow by 7.3 percent in the first six months of 2012, mostly on the back of new coal revenues.
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