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As reported by Reuters, Vale financial general manager Fabio Bechara said the future mine could produce up to 12.7 million tonnes per annum of hard coking coal, an increase on the previous 8.5Mtpa estimate.
In a presentation to the Coaltrans conference in Johannesburg, Bechara revealed plans for the development of a 600MW power station at the mine mouth, which would enable 2.5Mt of domestic thermal coal production in addition to 2.4Mt for export markets each year.
The full ramp-up of Moatize has been estimated to take four years, with the first shipment slated for 2011.
Exports are intended to go through a new coal terminal at Beira, but Bechara reportedly flagged the possible refurbishment of an existing terminal at the port should the new terminal not be ready in time.
Moatize is Vale’s first greenfield project in Africa and has proven and probable reserves of 838Mt. The miner has so far spent $300 million on development.
