Coal India to give up three-fourths of Mozambique mine

NEW DELHI: Coal India, the world's biggest coal miner, today said it has decided to relinquish about three-fourths of a coal mine it was allotted in Mozambique.

Coal India Africana Limitada, a fully-owned subsidiary of the state-owned firm, was allotted two leasehold licences for extraction of coal of about 224 square kilometre in Tete province of Mozambique.

The company board has approved retaining "54 sq km of leasehold licence area which will be of actual interest with coal bearing horizon occuring within a 500-metre depth and relinquish the remaining 170 sq km area out of total leasehold licence area of 224 sq km", CIL said in a regulatory filing.

The decision to relinquish was taken based on Interim Geological Report prepared by CMPDIL, a 100 per cent planning subsidiary of CIL, it said.