The Brazilian mining giant, the Vale do Rio Doce Company (CVRD), reiterated on Tuesday its interest in operating the coal mines at Moatize, in the western Mozambican province of Tete.
It is one of four companies bidding for the right to exploit the huge Moatize deposits.
The CVRD chairperson, Roger Agnelli, who was received in audience by Mozambican President Joaquim Chissano, told reporters after the meeting that besides the coal project, CVRD is also considering investing in other related areas in the country.
"We came here, once again, to express our interest and the commitment of the Vale do Rio Doce Company to participate in the Moatize coal project and to tell the Mozambican President that we are also studying other investment possibilities in Mozambique, related to energy and aluminium", said Agnelli.
He added that the Brazilian government is strongly committed to supporting all these initiatives as a means to strengthen and expand still further the ties that link the two countries.
"That is why the chairman of the Brazilian National Bank for Social and Economic Development (BNDES), Carlos Lessa, came to tell President Chissano of the Bank's willingness to support the CVRD projects in Mozambique", said Agnelli, explaining the banker's presence on his delegation.
On the ground, the CVRD is continuing studies. Agnelli said further studies in Moatize are under way. Their results will be used to produce the final proposal on the project, to be presented to the Mozambican government by November.
As for the funding of the mines, Lessa could not give any numbers, saying that "the final figure is not yet known, but it is quite large". "The Brazilian government instructed us to give support to all the dreams of Mozambique and the CVRD", claimed Lessa.
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"Actually, as I understand it, Mozambique expects more than mere extraction of coal. It is the Mozambican dream not only to have a new source of energy using coal, but also it needs a railway that functions".
The railway in question is the Sena line, which runs from Moatize to the port of Beira. It was comprehensively sabotaged by the apartheid-backed Renamo rebels during the war of destabilisation, and only now is it being slowly rebuilt. Coal used to be a significant Mozambican export. But the destruction of the Sena line made it impossible to transport the coal economically to port. In two decades, the only exports of Moatize coal have been small amounts trucked into neighbouring Malawi.
Fonte: AIM
