First shipload of coking coal from Benga arrives, says ICVL

International Coal Ventures Ltd (ICVL) today said the first ship carrying coking coal from the recently acquired Benga mine in Mozambique has arrived at Vizag port.
"Consequent to the acquisition of the coking coal mine and coal assets by ICVL in Mozambique, the first ship arrived earlier this week at Vizag Port with Benga premium hard coking coal for Steel Authority of India," ICVL said in a statement.
ICVL, a joint venture of state-run firms, has recently bought Rio Tinto's 65 per cent stake in Benga and 100 per cent each in Zambeze and Tete East coal assets in Mozambique for USD 50 million.

Benga is the only operational mine as of now. Tata Steel has the remaining 35 per cent stake in the Benga mine, which now produces about 1.2 million tonnes per annum of premium grade coking coal.
"This shipment marks the beginning of establishing a long term and reliable source of supply for SAIL, RINL and NMDC," ICVL said.
The Moatize Coal Basin in Mozambique where Benga mine is situated is stated to be the second largest coal basin in the world after the Bowen Basin in Australia.

"With huge reserves now under the control of ICVL, coal output would be progressively increased for meeting current and the growing requirements of the Indian steel majors," ICVL said.

Coking coal imports are slated to go up with projected growth of steel industry in India and the limited availability of good quality coking coal indigenously.
"ICVL is putting in place a strong management team to make the mining operations efficient and cost effective. With transport infrastructure in Mozambique under expansion, ICVL would be well positioned to take advantage of increasing volumes from its Mozambique assets for imports to India," it said.
ICVL, a joint venture between SAIL, CIL, RINL, NMDC and NTPC, was created in 2009 to ensure long-term security of the supply of critical raw material for domestic steel industry. CIL and NTPC are not interested in coking coal.