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AfrElec COAL AfrElec

Workers strike at top

Mozambique coal mine

MOZAMBIQUE A strike at a coal mine in central Mozambique Moatize Mine, according to the International
owned by Vulcan Minerals, a unit of India’s Jin- Centre for Sustainable Carbon, was estimated to
dal Group, has disrupted output at a time when hold 913.8mn tonnes of proven and probable
the price and demand for the mineral has spiked. coal reserves as of December 2019, while the
According to local reports, around 500 of the total marketable coal reserves were estimated to
5,300 workers at Moatize Mine are demanding be approximately 364.9mn tonnes. This, says the
compensation from Vulcan Minerals after it London-based think tank, made the mine one of
bought the mine from Brazil’s Vale in December the world’s largest by reserves.
for $270mn in a deal that included a connected Vulcan said in a statement cited by Reuters
railway system linking the operation to a seaport on Wednesday (May 18) that while there was no
at Nacala. destruction or vandalism of company or private
The workers want Vale to compensate them equipment, “the strike did not follow the legal
for their length of service and for the new procedures, because the striking workers did not
employer to hire them if it so wishes, rather than deliver a prior notice”.
being handed over to Vulcan through what they The release did not say what steps the com-
describe as a “trespass”, Mozambique’s Noticias pany might take to resolve the issue or by when
reports. it foresees an end to the strike, which started on
“Vale must terminate the agreement it has the night of May 11. But Vulcan did say it was
with us and compensate us, and we can then open to dialogue and would respond to workers’
decide whether or not we want to work with the claims by Friday (May 20).
new boss,” a told the publication. According to Noticias, Vulcan highlights
However, its other source linked to Vulcan its “objective of guaranteeing the continuity of
said raising the “trespass” issue was a “danger- coal operations in the country, based on a strong
ous” contractual move for the workers because commitment to its values, giving priority to peo-
“some workers have been with the [previous] ple, communities and investing in the safeguard-
company for several years and, in the event of ing of all employees, their respective families and
dismissal, the new employer may not recognize civil society in general”.™
that period of service.”

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