Protesters invade section of Vale mine in Moatize, Mozambique

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Protesters invade section of Vale mine in Moatize, Mozambique

2:41 CAT | 10 May 2021

Photo: Twitter /@tomqueface

Dozens of peasant farmers in Moatize have invaded part of the Vale coal mine in Tete, central Mozambique, accusing the company of preventing them accessing a river in the region.

The protests of the group, who live in the 1.º de Maio neighbourhood in Moatize and include some potters, reportedly interrupted operations in that part of the mine for almost 10 hours on Wednesday. The protestors only left the site after a Vale management team arrived to negotiate, a note from the non-governmental organization Justiça Ambiental claims.

Moatize.tt_ — *Photo: Twitter /@tomqueface*

“These potters and peasants recently saw their access to the river cut by the mining company [Vale], in the course of the company expanding its activities,” the organisation reports, adding that the river is “fundamental to the subsistence and survival activities that peasants have been carrying out there since 1994”.

“It is unacceptable that Vale continues this hostile stance in Tete, and that once again it has prevented access to a river that is essential for the livelihood of the families who live in its surroundings, without negotiation,” the NGO adds.

In a reaction communicated to Lusa, Vale states that it maintains “open communication channels with communities” with the aim of “understanding their demands and finding sustainable solutions”.

“The company trusts in an open and transparent dialogue and fulfils all legal obligations, based on the best international social management practices,” the company stresses, recalling that it has invested US$37 million in development projects for local communities, of which at least US$3 million was applied specifically in the neighbourhood of the group that organized the protest.

Há braço de ferro entre as autoridades e as comunidades de oleiros de Moatize! Cansados de esperar as suas indemnizações por parte da empresa #Vale, as comunidades decidiram bloquear a estrada que dá acesso a empresa. O Governo enviou as suas forças para travar a fúria popular pic.twitter.com/AhK6VKNODU

— Tomás Queface (@tomqueface) May 7, 2021

Coal is one of Mozambique’s main export products, mainly destined for Asia, and Vale employs around 8,000 people, of whom close to 3,000 are its own workers, with the remainder engaged via subcontractors.

In January, Vale announced its intention of selling its coal mining operation in the country with the aim of becoming carbon neutral by 2050 and reducing some of its main sources of pollution by 2030.

The company has already signed a principle of understanding with the Japanese partner Mitsui, “allowing both parties to structure Mitsui’s exit from the Moatize coal mine and the Nacala Logistic Corridor (NLC), as a first step towards the divestment of Vale from the coal business”.

Currently, the Brazilian mining company has the capacity to produce 12 million tons of coal per year, but has actually produced less than that. In 2018, it produced 11.5 million tons, and in 2019, eight million tons.

The figure for 2021 may have been even lower due to the fall in demand for coal, caused by the slowdown in the global economy resulting from the coronavirus pandemic.

Source: Lusa