Fresh bidding for Mozambique coal licenses

Fresh bidding for Mozambican coal exploration licenses for the central province of Tete will open next week, according to Mineral Resources minister, Esperanca Bias.

“Between this week and next we will issue new bidding as we are going to revoke some licenses” where the holders didn’t fulfill contractual requirements, Bias said in an interview in the capital, Maputo. She did not say how many areas would be included in the bidding process.

Rio Tinto Plc and Vale SA are among the mining companies with coal operations in Mozambique.

“We have several companies looking for opportunities in Mozambique’s offshore areas, but we are telling them to be patient,” Bias said. “We are only waiting for the mining law to be approved by parliament because new licenses must be guided by the new law.”

The revised legislation, which Bias said will be approved by the end of June, proposes that future licenses be granted on condition that 5 percent to 25 percent of projects be held by citizens of the southern African nation.

Bidding for oil and gas exploration licenses is expected to follow shortly after the bidding for coal licenses has been concluded. 

Edited from various sources by Sam Dodson

Read the article online at: https://www.worldcoal.com/coal/13052014/fresh_bidding_for_mozambique_coal_licenses_832/