Mozambique Coal Mining: Vale loses 1,638 tons in train derailment through Sena Line

The worst ever derailment on the Sena railroad in Mozambique resulted in two derailed locomotives, 26 rail cars destroyed, 150 metres of damaged rail line, 50 metres of platform removed and loss of 1,638 tons of Vale coal.

Derailment of the train with two engines and 42 rail cars loaded with coal mined in Moatize by Vale Moçambique, subsidiary of Brazilian group Vale, also injured train’s drivers, but not seriously.

The director of the Sena Line Reconstruction Brigade (BRLS), engineer Elias Xai-Xai, told Mozambican newspaper Notícias, that the platform, where the ballast, sleepers and rails sit, was the part most affected by the derailment and that replacing it would require extensive compaction of the soil.

At the beginning of the week, the recently arrived director of Vale Mozambique, Pedro Gutemberg, announced that the company has posted a loss of US44 million in the first quarter of 2014.

He noted that the losses were due to high operating costs in the coal sector in Mozambique and a sharp drop in coal prices on the international market.

Two years ago coal was priced at US$250 per ton, but at the moment the price stands at around US$100, said the director of Vale Mozambique.

Gutemburg noted that it was necessary to ensure maximum efficiency throughout the coal production value chain in Mozambique, and added that if this was not possible, “results will remain negative and we will find it hard to attract further investments.” (macauhub/MZ/BR)