News via Reuters, Jan 12, 2011
Mozambique on Jan 10 turned down a request by the Indian government for five coal concessions, saying the Asian giant should first develop its two existing blocks in the southern African nation, sources reported.
They must develop what they have first, Abdul Razak, deputy minerals minister, told a news briefing after talks with Indian Coal minister Sriprakash Jaiswal.
Jaiswal arrived in Mozambique on Jan 9 with officials from Coal India Limited (CIL) to try to secure additional exploration rights in Mozambique, home to some of the world's richest untapped deposits, to meet India's fast-rising demand.
CIL was awarded rights last month to two blocks totaling 200 sq km in Mozambique's Moatize region. The blocks are thought to have reserves of 1 billion tonnes of coking and thermal coal, according to the report.
CIL officials said on Jan 9 that, all being well, the state-run firm would invest $400-million and employ 3 000 people in the next five years at the two coal blocks and would import 10-million tonnes of coal in the next decade.
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