Mozambique: Coral Sul FLNG project contributes 6.5 percent to GDP growth
in file CoM
Vale will produce only 15 million tons of coal in Mozambique this year, against its planned 16 million tons goal, the Brazilian company announced yesterday – a reduction which affects economic growth forecasts.
Vale Mozambique’s president, Márcio Godoy, told a press conference that floods in central and northern Mozambique limited production at Vale’s two mines there.
“At the beginning of the year we forecast 16 million tons, but we had heavy rains both in the Nampula and Nacala regions and in Tete, which badly affected our activities,” Godoy said.
February and March, he continued, were the worst months for losses, leading Vale to reduce this year’s forecast to 15 million tons.
The Minister of Economy and Finance, Adriano Maleiane, had already acknowledged the fall in Vale production during an interview with Lusa in April.
At the time, he said that it would lead to a downward revision of the economic growth rate foreseen for this year from 5.3 percent to an undisclosed figure somewhat above the 3 percent forecast by the International Monetary Fund.
In 2017, Vale produced 11.2 million tons of coal, against 5.6 million tons in 2016, as a result of increased production at the Moatize II mine, the company’s second in Tete province, central Mozambique.
Godoy pointed out that Vale still had to consolidate coal production in Mozambique to fully exploit the 18 million ton export capacity of the Nacala Logistics Corridor – which comprises a 912-kilometre railway line and the port of Nacala, now able to receive deep-draught ships.
“Production is increasing as we train people and streamline production processes,” Godoy added.
Vale recorded a net profit of 66.3 billion meticais (EUR 928 million) in Mozambique in 2017, a 31 percent increase on 2016, the Brazilian mining company announced yesterday.
Vale Moçambique’s chief financial officer, Marcelo Tertuliano, said that, despite the gains, the company was still far from recovering its investment in the country.
Leave a Reply
Be the First to Comment!
You must be logged in to post a comment.
You must be logged in to post a comment.