Mozambique is home to one of the world's largest known untapped coal reserves, with miners from across the globe rushing in to get a share of the pie. Below is a list of the main projects.
* VALE : The Brazilian miner's Moatize mine began production in May this year and is expected to eventually produce 11 million tonnes of coal per year for the next 35 years, including 8.5 million tonnes of hard coking coal and 2.5 million tonnes of thermal coal.
* RIO TINTO : The miner expects its Benga project initially to produce 2 million tonnes of coal, made up of 1.7 million tonnes of coking coal and 0.3 million of thermal coal. Benga is scheduled to rise to around 10 million tonnes of coal by 2013. Its larger Zambeze project will start production in 2015 and will eventually produce 15 million tonnes of coking coal and around 5 million tonnes of thermal coal.
* BEACON HILL RESOURCES : The AIM-listed miner is expanding its Minas Moatize mine to produce 2.35 million tonnes of saleable coking and thermal coal per year. This will include around 0.92 million tonnes of coking coal. Out of the thermal coal produced at the mine, some 0.88 million tonnes are destined for exports and 0.55 million tonnes will supply the domestic and regional market in Africa, including the sugar, cement and tobacco industries. First exports are expected to happen before the end of this year.
* ENRC : The Kazakh miner holds several exploration licences for areas in the Tete province. The company initiated a feasibility study for one of the assets which is expected to be completed in the first half of 2012.
* NCONDEZI COAL : The AIM-listed coal exploration and development company holds 4 licences in the Tete province. The company is due to complete a bankable feasibility study on the project in the second half of 2012. The aim is to construct an open pit mine, which will initially produce 2.6 million tonnes of export thermal coal a year, ramping up to 10 million tonnes. Production start is expected in late 2014 or 2015. The potential to produce coking coal at the site has also been identified.
* TALBOT GROUP/NIPPON STEEL /POSCO : Australia's Talbot Group, Japan's Nippon Steel and South Korea's Posco own the greenfield Revuboe River Mine project, meant to produce both coking and thermal coal, with first output expected from 2013 or 2014. The project is expected to produce 5 million tonnes of coking coal and up to 3 million tonnes of thermal coal per year when it reaches peak production.
* COAL INDIA : The state-owned company and the world's biggest coal producer secured exploration rights at two blocks in Mozambique's Moatize region and hopes to start mining coal at the site within five years. The miner plans to export 10 million tonnes of coal from the two blocks to India in the next 10 years. The blocks are estimated to hold reserves of a billion tonnes of coking and thermal coal. It will invest $400 million in the project.
* MOZAMBI COAL : The company has three mineral exploration projects in the Zambeze coal basin in the Tete province.
* JINDAL STEEL & POWER : The Indian firm holds a 25-year licence to explore and mine for coal in the Tete province. - Reuters