Maputo: Ncondezi Coal Ltd., seeking to build a coal mine in Mozambique, signed an agreement with Rio Tinto Group and Minas de Revuboe to study the construction of a port and railways in the African nation. The deal gives Ncondezi the right to access as much as 10 million metric tons of rail and port capacity a year, it said today in a statement.
London-based Rio Tinto, the world’s third- largest mining company, will lead the study, it said. Rio owns the Benga and Zambeze projects in the country.
“Rio Tinto has significant experience in developing rail and port infrastructure projects around the world, and I believe that it is best placed to lead and implement this project in Mozambique,” Ncondezi’s Chief Executive Officer Graham Mascall said, according to the statement.
The study is assessing the construction of 25 million to 100 million tons of port and rail capacity a year, Ncondezi said. It’s planning to begin coal production in 2015.
Ncondezi holds four exploration licenses in the Mozambique province of Tete, adjacent to projects owned by Brazil’s Vale SA, the world’s biggest iron ore-exporter, and Rio Tinto. The cost of building the company’s namesake project is estimated at $376 million. Ncondezi is planning on annual production of as much as 10 million tons of power station coal.
