Indian public-owned consortium, International Coal Ventures Limited (ICVL) is set to acquire three coal mines in Mozambique’s Tete province owned by mining giant Rio Tinto group.

“ICVL held preliminary talks with officials from the group in Mozambique and should submit a bid of US$200 million within 15 days to buy all of Rio Tinto’s assets,” an official in India Mining Industry said.

Rio Tinto controls 100 percent of Zambeze and Tete Oriental coal mines and 65 percent in Benga mine in Tete province.

There are large mineral deposits in Mozambique but exploration has been constrained by the civil war (1977–1992) and poor infrastructure.

The mining sector in Mozambique contributes less than 5 percent of the nation’s gross domestic product (GDP).

The southern African nation exported its first batch of coal in 2011 and expects to become the world’s largest coal exporter. It is also spending about $50 billion in infrastructure projects to access its coal reserves. Natural gas is also reported to make Mozambique have the fourth largest reserves in the world, after Russia, Iran and Qatar.

Other minerals currently being mined in Mozambique include marble, bentonite, gold, bauxite, granite, titanium and gemstones.

By George Mpofu