The planned redundancies include 50 local posts and 20 expatriate roles, according to Bloomberg Businessweek.

“Due to low prices of commodities in the global market and the constraints created by the infrastructure and transport logistics of coal, Rio Tinto Coal Mozambique incurred losses in its operations in 2012,” a statement from the company said.

“The company is taking the necessary steps to ensure that the business becomes profitable by the end of 2013.”

RTCM said in the statement that the job cuts would cover roles ranging from mining support to operations, such as exploration and research.

Rio Tinto has had a turbulent relationship with the eastern African nation after announcing a $3 billion write-down on its $4b Riversdale acquisition, less than two years after it was completed.

After the January announcement, Rio Tinto chairman Jan du Plessis said: “In Mozambique, the development of infrastructure to support the coal assets is more challenging than Rio Tinto originally anticipated.”

However, Rio recently returned to the fray in Mozambique in a new joint venture with state-owned Mozambique Mining Exploration.

The Minas de Changara JV will explore for coal in the country’s Tete province.

Rio said the JV would be 75%-owned by a unit of Rio and the rest by Mozambique Mining.