Indian company International Coal Ventures Private Limited (ICVL) is reported to be interested in coal assets in Mozambique. ICVL is a “special-purpose vehicle” created at the initiative of the Indian Ministry of Steel, with the purpose of obtaining metallurgical and thermal coal assets in foreign countries in order to assure the supply of imported coal. The company seeks to acquire a total of some 500-million tons of metallurgical coal reserves by 2019/20.

ICVL is a partnership between the Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL), Coal of India Limited, Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited (RINL – a steel company), the National Mineral Development Corporation and NTPC (India’s largest power producer). All these companies are wholly or predominantly State-owned. Currently, SAIL has to import 75% of its metallurgical coal requirements, while the figure for RINL is 100%.

A mission from ICVL recently visited Mozambique. This is not the first time the Indian company has shown interest in the African country’s coal resources. In 2011, it made an attempt to acquire Australian junior Riversdale Mining’s Benga project, in Tete province. However, Anglo-Australian major Rio Tinto outbid ICVL. (Rio Tinto acquired Benga for $4.1-billion, but has since had to write down $3.47-billion of that investment.) Members of the mission subsequently also visited South Africa and other countries in Southern Africa.

ICVL has apparently yet to acquire an asset, although there are hopes that Polish coal operations will be bought in the near future. Back in April, the senior civil servant in the Ministry of Steel Secretary G Mohan Kumar told the Reuters news agency that the company was examining a number of opportunities. “ICVL is very actively looking around,” he said. “It is looking at various possibilities.”

Meanwhile, Australian junior Metals of Africa has announced that it is to start exploration for its Montepuez graphite project, in Cabo Delgado province, in the north of Mozambique. This project is composed of three wholly owned exploration licences. Two of these lie geologically along the strike from Syrah Resources’ Balama graphite project and the third lies along the strike from Triton Minerals’ Balama North graphite project.

This initial exploration programme will start early this month and will involve site visits followed by geological mapping and sampling at all three licence properties. It will be carried out by MSA Group on behalf of Metals of Africa. The results, which it is hoped will be available by the end of the month, will be used to assist in the planning of the second phase of the exploration programme, which could, the company reports, include the first phase of the drilling programme.

Previously, the company announced that it had raised A$494 260 in a placement and that this would allow the company to carry out exploration activities on its main assets in Mozambique, Tanzania and Gabon. Apart from Montepuez, the company also has the Rio Mazoe and the adjacent Changara lead-zinc-silver projects in Mozambique, the Mkindu uranium/iron oxide/copper/gold project, in Tanzania, and the Kroussou lead/zinc/silver project, in Gabon.

Early last month (before the announcement of the successful placement), Metals of Africa reported that it was about to start ground electromagnetic surveying at its Rio Mazoe concession. This is designed to delineate zinc, lead and silver conductors. In turn, this information will be used to guide the drilling programme, which is planned to start next month. The survey will be carried out over high-priority prospects within the project area. Meanwhile, the already launched, parallel, 2014 soil sampling and geological mapping activities are continuing.