Vale SA, the Brazilian mining giant, plans to place its Mozambican coal operations on maintenance for three months, essentially closing the tap on about one-third of the southeast African country’s export earnings.
The move could have severe implications for the country’s balance of payments and currency, as coal is by far its biggest source of export earnings. Mozambique exported $1.7 billion worth of the fuel used in power stations and steel plants last year, with Vale operations in the center of the country accounting for almost all of that.
The company completed a review of its Mozambican coal mines and decided to shift the focus to producing more metallurgical coal — used to produce steel — and less of the lower-value product that power stations burn. Under the new plan, the assets will produce at a rate of 15 million tons per year by the end of 2020, up from less than 12 million tons last year, but still well short of Vale’s target to export 22 million tons from the mines in central Mozambique.
Vale will this quarter write down the assets by $1.6 billion, it said in a statement.
News Source: BloombergChina stepped up imports of Australian steelmaking...
Peabody update on coal industry conditions
Queensland coal production drives record export fi...
Coal remains Queensland’s biggest export, confirms...
Coking coal prices boost Rhino Resources revenue i...
Indian coking coal imports fall in March
India's coal import rises 13% to 21 MT in April
Anglo may export more Queensland coal with fewer t...
Japan is the world’s third-largest coal-importing...
MC Mining concludes Makhado coal off-take deal wit...
Arch Coal, Peabody announce plans to merge their P...
SFIO launches probe into Gujarat NRE Coke
Investors bearish on seaborne met market, concerns...
Australia’s North Queensland June coal exports sur...
Coal’s share of US power generation may fall to 11...