Today The Zimbabwean reported that although a Mozambican company confirmed damage from barging would be insignificant, the government has opted to refuse coal transportation on environmental grounds.

Transport Minister Paulo Zucula told Reuters that the impact would be “very negative and there were no plans for mitigation”

“As proposed, it is not doable,” he said.

Coal is currently transported in Mozambique by rail, a method Zucula said he much preferred.

“If you compare the two in terms of the environment, the difference is huge,” he told Reuters.

Rio is far from the only company to be stymied by government policy in this country, which is prone to river flooding and infrastructure challenges.

According to the Mozambican newspaper Noticias, the country’s environment ministry rejected 146 investment projects last year.