Vale Moçambique, a subsidiary of Brazilian mining group Vale, will stop using the Sena Railroad and the port of Beira for its coal exports, which will be focused on the Nacala Logistics Corridor (CLN) and its deep-water port, said the chairman of the company.

 

Márcio Godoy told daily newspaper Noticias, on the sidelines of the ceremony to sign contracts for financing the CLN, that the company intends to increase coal exports from 12 million tons this year to 17 million or 18 million tons in 2018 coal, “a quantity that can easily be accommodated in the CLN.”

The Sena Railroad and the port of Beira have the capacity to handle approximately 20 million tons per year but the port’s access channel can only accommodate vessels with gross tonnage of up to 40,000 and also needs to be dredged almost constantly due to silting.

Godoy told the newspaper that the deep-water port of Nacala has the capacity to receive vessels up to 180,000 tons, “which is much more advantageous to Vale Moçambique.”

“We intend to start exporting 18 million tons of coal per year, almost the same capacity that the port of Beira has, but for us there is an advantage in using the port of Nacala due to the higher capacity of vessels that can dock there,” said the chairman of the Board of Directors of Vale Moçambique.

Mining group Vale and its partner group Mitsui & Co last week signed an agreement for funding this project, which included the participation of members of the government and donors, in particular the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) and the African Development Bank, among others.

By signing the agreements, conditions are in place for Vale Vale and Mitsui to improve the Nacala Logistics Corridor, through work on the line, purchasing rolling stock, including freight cars, locomotives and other equipment for cargo handling. (Source: Macauhub)