Australia-based Riversdale Mining has signed a contract with Mozambique’s government for its USD 800 million Benga coal project in the southern African country. The Benga project will include a hard coking and thermal coal mine, with an anticipated run of mine of 20 million tonnes a year. Riversdale plans to start producing coal at Benga in 2010 and aims to export 2 million tonnes of the mineral each year, starting in the last quarter of 2010. Riversdale holds a 65% stake in the project and India-based TATA Steel owns the rest. Riversdale is also investing USD 3.1 billion in a thermal power project in Mozambique.
