Indian state-run steelmaker Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) along with its joint venture partners in Indian Coal Ventures Limited (ICVL) will invest $150-200 million in its Benga coal block asset in Mozambique, SAIL chairman Amarendu Prakash said in a statement on Tuesday, November 7.
Mr. Prakash said that the investment would be riding on doubling production capacity of the Benga mines to 4 million mt per year, and preparation of a detailed project report has been initiated.
The expansion of the Benga mines in Mozambique would de-risk import sourcing of coking coal by SAIL’s steel mills, he said.
Apart from SAIL, government-run companies like steel producer Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited (RINL) and iron ore miner NMDC Limited are the other equity shareholders of ICVL.
Total saleable coal is around 2 million mt per year from the Mozambique mine, of which the coking coal mined is for the captive consumption of the three Indian shareholders of ICVL, while the thermal coal output is sold on the open market.
