Johannesburg, South Africa, 8 Sept – Vale‘s coal mine in Moatize, Mozambique, may produce 12.7 million tonnes of coal per year in the first phase of the project the company’s financial director, Fabio Bechara said Monday.

The company had previously estimated annual production of 8.5 million tonnes.

Bechara said that the mine could also reach its target of 2.4 million tonnes of thermal coal for export and an additional 2.5 million tonnes for a 600 megawatt power plant that the company plans to build.

He also noted that the company had invested US$300 million in the project in Mozambique.

Vale previously announced it would invest US$1.3 billion in Mozambique and that in 2011 it planned to start selling coal to Europe, Brazil, Pakistan, Japan, Korea, China, India and Egypt.

Bechara also said that Vale was looking into competing for the tender launched by the Mozambican government for construction of a new terminal at the port of Beira. (macauhub)