Africa-Press – Mozambique. Compared to 2020, coal production in Mozambique increased 78.1% and sales almost doubled in the third quarter of this year, confirming the trend of the previous quarter, mining company Vale announces in its latest report.
The report reflects the results of work requalifying the Moatize mines and “greater demand” from Asian markets with the recovery of the global economy after the relaxation of restrictions linked to Covid-19.
The pandemic significantly affected mining activity in 2020.
The rise of indicators between July and September follows the trend already observed in the previous three months.
Coal production in the third quarter of 2021 stood at 2.4 million tons, and sales amounted to 2.6 million tons.
The biggest increase in sales compared to 2020 was in ‘energy coal’ (more than 160%) used in thermal power stations for, for example, electricity production, surpassing the rise seen for ‘coking coal’ used in the metallurgical industry (up 42%).
By the end of September, Vale had produced 5.6 million tons of coal in Moatize, against 4.6 million tons in the first nine months of 2020.
“Production is on the rise” after the requalification works, the report details, and is expected to reach ‘cruising speed’ “in the next quarter”.
“However, due to the rainy season, the annual production rate of 15 million tons may not be reached,” the report adds.
Vale announced at the beginning of the year that it aims to quit Mozambique. The miner is looking for investors to sell its Moatize operation to, in line with its objective of reducing carbon emissions, coal being one of the main sources globally.
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