Coal news and updates

First tranche of ICVL’s Mozambique coking coal arrives

November 28: Consequent to the acquisition of the coking coal mine and coal assets by ICVL in Mozambique, the first ship arrived earlier this week at Vizag Port with the Benga premium hard coking coal for Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL), an official of the company said.

This shipment marks the beginning of establishing a long-term and reliable source of supply for SAIL, RINL and NMDC. The Benga mine is a joint venture between ICVL and Tata Steel, he said.

ICVL has a majority stake of 65% with the balance held by Tata Steel. The Moatize coal basin in Mozambique - from where this coal will be sourced - is stated to be the second-largest coal basin in the world after the Bowen Basin in Australia.

The Benga mine currently produces about 1.2 million tons per annum of premium grade coking coal. With the huge reserves now under the control of ICVL, coal output would be progressively increased for meeting the current and growing requirements of the Indian steel majors.

With the projected growth of the steel industry in India and the limited availability of good quality coking coal indigenously, imports of this material are slated to go up rapidly.

The official said ICVL is putting in place a strong management team to make the mining operations efficient and cost-effective. With transport infrastructure in Mozambique under expansion, ICVL would be well positioned to take advantage of increasing volumes from its Mozambique assets for imports to India, the release added.