Navratna PSU Coal India (CIL) has bagged mineral concessions for two mining blocks with an estimated coal reserve of about one billion tonne in Mozambique, Coal India Chairman Partha S Bhattacharyya said today.
"We got an official communication yesterday that we have been given mineral concession for A1 and A2 mining blocks in Mozambique," Bhattacharyya told PTI.
The two virgin mining blocks, which are spread over an area of 200 square kilometers, could be possessing between 500 million tonnes and one billion tonnes of thermal and coking coal, he added.
CIL plans to export 85 per cent of the output from the Mozambique mines to India, which would help reduce the country's dependence on coal import.
"As per the deal, we would have to leave 15 per cent of the mined coal for the host country, while the rest we will export," Bhattacharyya said, adding the production from the Mozambique mines could start in a span of over five years.
CIL would soon start exploration of the two blocks, which would take over two years. It would also initiate talks with Indian agencies working in Mozambique for infrastructure and allied support in the project.