Jindal Steel and Power (JSPL) today said it expects to start supplying coal from its Mozambique mine early next year.
"We were scouting for mines in Mozambique five to six years ago. We have also started to mine there. Now we hope that in the next quarter we will also dispatch some coal from there," JSPL Chairman and Managing Director Naveen Jindal told reporters on the sidelines of a function.
Jindal also said that the company was looking at opportunities in coal mining and power sector in regions like Western Africa.
"We keep on visiting countries for business opportunities in mining (coal), in power. So in that we are also looking at Western Africa. There are many countries....Nothing has firmed up yet," he said.
The company had earlier, said that it would source coal from the Mozambique mine to feed its projects here in the country.
The Mozambique mine is strategically important for the Naveen Jindal-led firm as it contains both coking and thermal coal.
The company, which has plans to produce 10 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) coal from the mine at peak level, is also looking to set up a 2,640 MW thermal power plant in the African nation.
The company has earlier said that it is also planning to set up a coal washery in Mozambique by the fiscal-end, to reduce the high ash content from the mine there.
JSPL, which currently has a steel making capacity of 3 million tonnes per year (MTPA) and power generation capacity of nearly 2,500 MW, is aiming at having 20 MTPA steel making capacity by 2020 and power generation capacity of over 21,000 MW (together with its subsidiary Jindal Power) during the period.
Earlier, JSPL has acquired Canada's CIC Energy, which has 2.6 billion tonne of high quality thermal coal mines in Botswana, for over Rs 600 crore as part of its aim to ensure fuel security.
Besides Mozambique and Botswana, the company also has coal mines in Australia, Indonesia and South Africa.
