Queensland Bauxite Ltd. (QBL) has announced it will acquire interests in two Mozambique exploration licenses prospective for coal. Licenses 4070L and 4169L encompass 206 km2 and are located in the Zambezi basin, close to majors, such as Vale, Rio Tinto and ENRC.
QBL announced it had signed a binding term sheet with Australian company, Regius Coal Mining Ltd. (Regius Coal), in which QBL would acquire an initial 35% stake in Regius Coal, with an option to increase this stake to 51%.
Upon completion of the transaction, QBL and Regius Coal intent to progress with coal exploration activities over the licenses, working as joint venture partners.
The Zambezi basin and Tete Province is proving to be the next frontier for large-scale metallurgical and thermal coal projects. Many multinational companies, including Rio Tinto, Vale, Anglo American, and Tata, have already invested billions of US dollars in exploration and development.
QBL stated that it expected overall coal mining costs to be substantially less than comparable mining locations in Australia and Canada, while it also hoped to benefit from access to Asian markets, thanks to Mozambican export routes.
Infrastructure development plans, such as an upgrade to the Sena and Necala railway lines, will aid coal production and exportation in the country. QBL said it expected the proposed exploration and potential development of the exploration licenses would coincide with such large-scale infrastructure developments.
Adapted from press release by Samuel Dodson.