Maputo — The mining companies Vale and Rio Tinto have declared the interruption of coal exports from the western Mozambican province of Tete, for reasons of "force majeure".

Both companies declared that the event forcing them to suspend operations is the interruption to rail traffic along the Sena Line, from the Moatize coal basin to the port of Beira, caused by the torrential rains falling in the Zambezi Valley.

Ballast has been washed away from a section of the line, and until that problem is solved, no trains can use it.

Rio Tinto noted that the owner of the Sena line, Mozambique's publicly owned ports and rail company, CFM, "is making efforts to re-establish rail traffic as quickly as possible".