Mozambique Mining: Coal India asks Mozambique for new coal prospecting blocks

The Coal India Limited Group (CIL) has asked the government of Mozambique for alternative coal blocks because it has not found coal in the blocks it was given as a concession a few years ago, the president of the group told Indian newspaper the Economic Times.

“We have requested the government of Mozambique to hand over alternative blocks as we have not find commercially viable coal in the that have been delivered to us,” explained Bhattacharya Sutirtha in statements to the newspaper.

The CIL group received two blocks for prospecting coal with a combined area of 224 square kilometres in Tete province, central Mozambique, in August 2009.

The group then set up a 100%-controlled subsidiary – Coal India African Limited (CIAL) – to explore the two blocks.

Prospecting activities have revealed that of the total area 170 square kilometres contained no coal to a depth of 500 metres but the group retained the remaining 54 square kilometres, for which the government of Mozambique issued a new exploration license valid until August 2019.

The group later discovered that the area was not economically viable for coal mining and returned all of the two blocks to the government of Mozambique, and is now waiting for alternative blocks. (macauhub)