The agreement signed in 2014 for the entry of the Japanese group Mitsui & Co. in the coal business of Brazilian group Vale in Mozambique should be completed next September, said on Thursday the chairman of the mining group.

Murilo Ferreira, quoted by Brazilian newspaper Valor Económico, stressed that the process is “well advanced”, awaiting only the approval of the Malawi government, “something that is in the final stages of negotiation” after last month it has been approved by government of Mozambique.

Mitsui & Co group agreed in 2014 to pay US$763 million for participation in the projects of Vale in Mozambique – the coal mine in Moatize and the Nacala Corridor rail road which starts from Moatize, in the province Tete, enters Malawi before returning to Mozambique and end in Nacala.

“This approval (from Malawi Government) is essential for the project funding at a time when discussions with banks have been completed” and it’s now “in the document review stage,” said the president of the Vale group.

The coal mining in Moatize, Tete province, has been representing to Vale group a loss of US$500 million per year, a figure that fell to 112 million dollars in the first quarter and US$100 million in the second quarter of 2016. (macauhub / BR / MZ)