Vale SA, the world’s biggest iron- ore producer, has so far spent about $300 million of the $1.3 billion investment in its Moatize coal mine and should begin selling fuel from the project by June 2011.

Vale may export coking coal to Europe, Brazil, Egypt, Japan, Korea and China, and steam coal to India and Pakistan, Fabio Bechara, a financial general manager at Vale, said in a presentation at the Coaltrans conference in Johannesburg today.

Annual output from the mine will be about 12 million metric tons and environmental requirements have been met, Bechara said, adding that the company will start moving more than 5,000 people who currently live on the site “in the second semester.” Vale is studying a 600 megawatt power plant and plans to build a new terminal at Mozambique’s Beira port, he said.

Vale plans to boost companywide capital spending this year by 40 percent to about $14 billion to increase output and shipments of iron ore, coal, nickel and other metals, anticipating a rebound in demand.

source : bloomberg.com

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