Mozambique has lost $3.1M to illegal mining in Zambézia so far this year, provincial official says
Mozambique expects coal production to reach record highs next year
10:53 CAT | 26 Nov 2025
FILE - For illustration purposes only. [File photo: Vulcan International
Mozambique forecasts record coal production of over 22 million tonnes in 2026, representing a 15% increase compared to this year’s estimate, according to Government data.
According to supporting documents for the Economic and Social Plan and State Budget (PESOE) 2026, under review by the Assembly of the Republic, the Government’s plan projects production of 9.3 million tonnes of coking coal, a by-product used in steel production, and 13.1 million tonnes of thermal coal, used for energy production, both with similar growth of 15%.
“It is estimated that mineral coal production will achieve an average growth rate of around 15%, with improved processing plants at coal companies in Tete, notwithstanding a slight decline in coal prices on the international market due to increased clean energy trade,” the Government acknowledges in the document.
The same plan also recalls the forecasted coal production of 19 million tonnes in 2025, alongside the 16.3 million tonnes produced in 2024, 14.9 million tonnes in 2023, and 14.8 million tonnes in 2022.
The Indian company Vulcan operates in Moatize, Tete province, a 250 square kilometre coal extraction area.
In the last three years alone, Vulcan stated it has produced over 35 million tonnes of coal at its Moatize mines, an operation it acquired in April 2022 from the Brazilian company Vale for more than US$ 270 million.
Vale was present in Mozambique for 15 years, having exploited the Moatize mine and the 912 kilometres of railway in the Nacala Logistics Corridor for coal transport, an infrastructure also sold to Vulcan.
Historically, coal has been Mozambique’s main export commodity but was dethroned in the first quarter of this year, with the country selling US$567.7 million of natural gas, a year-on-year increase of 28%, thus surpassing coal revenue.
The increase in natural gas revenues is explained by the higher volume exported from Area 4 of the Rovuma basin, combined with a 12.8% rise in the average price on the international market,” states the Bank of Mozambique’s balance of payments report for the first quarter of 2025, published in September.
Meanwhile, mineral coal sales fell 35% in the first quarter of this year compared to the same period in 2024, totalling US$300.8 million, due notably to “the shutdown of some mines as well as rail line disruptions caused by severe weather, which affected production flow,” in the central region.
Post-election demonstrations, which lasted from October last year until the first quarter of 2025, “notably road blockades that restricted the movement” of workers, also affected production, the document recognises, as did “the fall in the average price” of coal on the international market by 6%.
Aluminium also surpassed coal in export value for Mozambique during the first quarter of 2025, reaching US$380.7 million, a year-on-year increase of 88.3%.
Source: Lusa
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