6 October 2008
Maputo — Mozambique's Minister of Mineral Resources, Esperanca Bias, has told AIM that investors are continuing to submit requests to the government for coal exploration licences.
However, the government has ceased to issue such licences, because all the areas in known coal basins are already occupied. "Since we have no new areas available for coal exploration, we are advising the applicants to enter into partnerships with those companies that already hold licences", said Bias.
The companies with exploration licences would need partners to provide services. "The challenge we have now is that we need companies that can provide services, companies that can support mining activity, and help with the research and the reports", she added.
There are now about 40 companies involved in coal exploration and mining in Mozambique, mostly in the western province of Tete. The Moatize area of Tete is regarded as one of the last great unexplored coal basins on the planet, with billions of tonnes of estimated reserves.
The high quality hard coking coal of Moatize has attracted mining giants such as the Companhia Vale do Rio Doce of Brazil and Riversdale of Australia.
However, the government's Investment Promotion Centre (CPI) says that after a period of rapid expansion, there has been a slowdown in direct foreign and domestic investment in mining.
Bias argued that this does not mean very much. Investment in mining is interspersed with phases of largely office and laboratory work, examining data, when it may appear that not much is happening on the ground.
Meanwhile there is heavy activity underway in the search for oil and for more natural gas, particularly in the Rovuma basin in the far north, where four foreign oil companies are involved in seismic exploration, and plan to drill test wells.
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