Vale moves to exit coal business

In its first step to exit the coal business, Brazilian mining firm Vale will acquire all stakes held by Japanese trading house Mitsui in the Moatize coal mine and Nacala corridor coal infrastructure in Mozambique.

Vale will own 95pc of the coal mine and 100pc of the Nacala project with Mitsui's exit and will then initiate a sale its stakes to third-party investors, in line with its commitment to carbon neutrality and a focus on the core business, it said.

Vale has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Mitsui's stakes. Mitsui signed a preliminary agreement in January to withdraw from its 15pc stake in the Moatize mine and 50pc stake in the Nacala corridor.

Vale's first-quarter coal production fell by 44.5pc on year and by 11.4pc on quarter to 1.09mn t because of weaker seaborne coal demand during the pandemic and maintenance of two processing plants in Moatize.

Coking coal production fell by 43.2pc on year and by 15.3pc to 558,000t while thermal coal output fell by 45.7pc on year and by 6.9pc on quarter to 532,000t.

Previously delayed maintenance restarted in November.

The revamp of Plant 1 was completed in early April, while the revamp of Plant 2 is expected to end in May. Vale expects the work to increase the mine's capacity to 15mn t/yr in the second half of 2021 and to 18mn t/yr in 2022.

By Dylan Wong