From Star Africa

Global mining giant, Vale, says its subsidiary Vale-Mozambique has lost over $44 million in operations during the first quarter of this year.The new chairperson of the company, Pedro Gutemberg was quoted as saying by the local media on Saturday that the firm blames the fall in coal prices on the world market.

The price in coking coal was almost $350 US a tonne in 2011, but today it has fallen to below $100 US a tonne and to move a tonne of coal from Vale’s mine at Moatize, in the western Mozambican province of Tete, to the port of Beira, currently costs $66.

Gutemberg said during the first quarter, Vale mined at its Moatize mine slightly more than a million tonnes of coal, but of this amount it has so far only sold 650,000 tons.

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