Mozambique denies India 5 more coal concessions

Mozambique on Monday turned down a request by the Indian government for five coal concessions, saying the Asian giant should first develop its two existing blocks in the southern African nation.

"They must develop what they have first. Then we will sit down and decide what to offer," Abdul Razak, deputy minerals minister, told a news briefing after talks with Indian Coal minister Sriprakash Jaiswal.

Jaiswal arrived in Mozambique on Sunday with officials from Coal India Limited (CIL) to try to secure additional exploration rights in Mozambique, home to some of the world's richest untapped deposits, to meet India's fast-rising demand.

CIL was awarded rights last month to two blocks totalling 200 sq km in Mozambique's Moatize region. The blocks are thought to have reserves of a billion tonnes of coking and thermal coal.

CIL officials said on Sunday that, all being well, the state-run firm would invest USD 400 mn and employ 3,000 people in the next five years at the two coal blocks and would import 10 mn tonnes of coal in the next decade.