A Brazilian firm, Vale, has begun production at its coal mine in Moatize, Tete province, following an official ceremony on May 8th. Vale has developed the mine since 2004 and has already invested around US$2bn of a planned total of US$4bn. The project currently employs about 8,000 people but the payroll is set to soar to 15,000 as the project develops. Coal exports are due to start by July this year. Vale initially plans to produce 1m tonnes of coal in 2011, rising to 6m tonnes in 2012 and 11m tonnes by 2014.

This sharp boost to investment and employment in Tete province has triggered an economic boom, transforming the fortunes of what was previously an isolated and neglected area of the country. The project's impact has been felt further afield too, benefiting subcontractors elsewhere in the country. The next large coal mine to come into production is set to be that at Benga-run by an Australian company, Riversdale Mining-which is also to begin production later this year.

Both Vale and Riversdale are set to export coal on the recently rehabilitated Sena railway line through the Zambezi valley to port facilities at Beira. However, owing to the line's limited capacity, estimated at 5m tonnes a year, this will be a temporary measure. Meanwhile, Vale is investing in another rail link to the deepwater port at Nacala, Nampula province, which is to be completed by 2014. On April 18th Vale signed an agreement with the Malawian and Mozambique authorities to construct a short new rail line from Tete across Malawian territory to link up with the existing Nacala rail line. Vale has extensive experience with mining transport logistics from its iron ore and coal operations in Brazil. It will bring these skills toward building a high capacity bulk minerals export infrastructure for the Nacala corridor project, in which it bought a majority stake last year. These export facilities are eventually to be made available to the other companies mining coal in Tete. Riversdale is also exploring the possibility of using barge traffic on the Zambezi River as its export route.

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