To reach a target of 11 million tonnes per annum, comprising 8.5Mt of metallurgical coal and 2.5Mt of thermal coal, Vale said it would build one of the largest coal handling preparation plants in the world, with capacity to process 26Mtpa.

Moatize is Vale’s first greenfield project in Africa and has proven and probable reserves of 838Mt.

Coal will be transported on a 600km railroad linking the mine to a new terminal in the port of Beira.

Vale said the coal export terminal would be built by a concessionary owned by the Mozambican government.

The mine life is expected to be over 35 years.

The Moatize Basin is set to become a major coal producing province, not only for the size of its reserves but also for the presence of quality hard coking coal.

Riversdale Mining’s Benga open cut project in the Moatize Basin has a total JORC-compliant resource of 2.1 billion tonnes, consisting of 1.023Bt of measured and indicated resources and 1.087Bt of inferred resources.

Recent testing of the first batch of Benga coke showed it had a coke strength after reaction (CSR) of 71, with Riversdale saying most premium hard coking coals have CSRs typically greater than 65.

The Benga project is 65% owned by Riversdale and 35% by Indian steelmaker Tata Steel, with the joint venture aiming to produce 20Mtpa of run-of-mine coal, including 6Mtpa of hard coking coal and 6Mtpa of thermal coal of saleable product.

The JV lodged an application with the Mozambique government for a mining concession in October.