Brazilian major mining group Vale extracts coal from the Moatize mine in the Tete province of Mozambique. In 2012, the board of Vale was planning a $6 billion expansion of the mine with plans to lift output from 11 million tons to 22 million tons per year. The company is planning to build a 600 MW thermal power plant at Moatize. Many families have been displaced. Hundreds of families, displaced by Vale Moatize coal mine in Mozambique, in 2012 blocked trains used by the Brazilian company, claiming it has failed to keep promises made to them over two years ago. About 700 families, resettled approximately 60 km away from the Moatize coal mining site, demonstrated against the lack of access to water, electricity and agricultural land at their resettlement area, Cateme. Several new infrastructure projects related to coal production are planned as well, which include a new coal terminal at the Beira port, coal export terminals in Nacala and a new port at Macuse. Since 2009, a surge of foreign investment in Mozambique's coal sector has been taking place. Companies Vale, Rio Tinto, Riversdale and Jindal Steel from Brazil, UK, Australia and India have invested billions of dollars in the past decade and are expected to invest an additional 50 billion dollars in the coming 10 years. The local population of Tete province has suffered from the coal boom, since large scale resettlements have been taking place since 2009. As a consequence, the communities have faced disruptions in accessing food, water and work, as Human Rights Watch (HRW) reports. Living conditions have decreased drastically, as many farming households who had previously been living along a river and were therefore self-sufficient, have now been resettled to sites 40 km away from the markets in Moatize, with agricultural land of uneven quality and unreliable access to water. Food insecurity and dependence on food assistance provided by the mining companies has become a serious issue for the families. On 10 January 2012, an estimated 500 residents from the resettlement village Cateme from the company Vale took their frustration with the lack of response from the company to the streets, protested and blocked the railroad linking the coal mine to the port. The demonstrations were shut down violently by local police. About 700 families had been resettled to the Cateme area between November 2009 and December 2010 and had recently been suffering from a lack of access to water, electricity and agricultural land occurring due to the resettlement. In 2012, through interviews with 79 resettled and soon-to-be-resettled community members and 50 government officials, company representatives, civil society actors etc., HRW investigated the impact of the resettlement process on the communities. Their report indicated that the resettlements have had “negative impacts on community members' standard of living, including rights to food, water, and work”. It was found that residents were especially struggling to regain their former self-sufficiency. The resettlements that took place due to coal mining in Tete province cited in the report include 10 original villages (Chipanga, Bagamoyo, Mithete, Malabwe, Capanga, Benga, Nhambalualu, Cassoca, Xissica, Nhomadzinedzani) that had been and were to be resettled by companies Vale, Rio Tinto and Jindal Steel at the Moatize, Benga and Chirodzi mines. In August 2012, the government of Mozambique took steps to improve communities' protection during the resettlements by issuing a resettlement decree. Nevertheless, the government did not consult the affected communities during the development of the decree, therefore critical gaps still remain. As Kirschner and Powell state (2015, in Geoforum, in a paper on the Tete coals fields), "The Frelimo government—once guided by a Marxist–Leninist ideology—has come to view coal mining and export as a pathway to modernisation and development and has hitched its fortunes to the burgeoning demand for resources, including from Western countries and from the ‘rising powers’". |
Name | Coal mining in Tete Province by Vale and other companies, Mozambique |
Country | Mozambique |
Province | Tete Province |
Site | Moatize, Tete Province |
Accuracy of Location | MEDIUM regional level |
Type of Conflict (1st level) | Fossil Fuels and Climate Justice/Energy |
Type of Conflict (2nd level) | Water access rights and entitlements Land acquisition conflicts Coal extraction and processing |
Specific Commodities | Land Coal |
Project Details | Tete province is a "commodity extraction frontier" rich in coal. It holds an estimated 23 billion tons of mostly untapped coal reserves, with the natural resource boom still in its early stages. Mining concessions and exploration licenses approved by the government cover around 3.4 million hectares (34% of Tete province's area). When licenses pending approval are included, around 60% of the province's area are covered, representing a project area of around six million hectares of land. There are several plans for coal fired power plants, in thousands of megawatts. "... the province of Tete, once a remote outpost but now a hub of power generation for the southern African region and an emerging centre of global investment in coal extraction. Some of the world’s largest mining firms from both established and emerging economies have descended on Tete, investing billions of dollars in developing concessions to extract some of the world’s largest untapped coal reserves" (Kirschner and Power, 2015, Geoforum). In July 2014, Rio Tinto sold its coal assets in Mozambique to the Indian state-run International Coal Ventures (ICVL). |
Project Area (in hectares) | 6,000,000 hectares (including licenses pending approval) |
Level of Investment (in USD) | 12,000,000,000 (for several coal projects) |
Type of Population | Rural |
Potential Affected Population | More than 7,000 (at least 1,429 households) |
Start Date | 01/01/2009 |
Company Names or State Enterprises | Vale (Vale) from Brazil Rio Tinto (Rio Tinto ) from Australia Jindal Steel and Power Limited from India Riversdale Resources from Australia - mining Coal Ventures from India |
Relevant government actors | Government of Mozambique |
Environmental justice organisations and other supporters | Human Rights Watch (HRW): http://www.hrw.org/ |
Intensity of Conflict (at highest level) | MEDIUM (street protests, visible mobilization) |
When did the mobilization begin | Mobilization for reparations once impacts have been felt |
Groups Mobilizing | Farmers Indigenous groups or traditional communities International ejos Landless peasants Neighbours/citizens/communities Social movements Ethnically/racially discriminated groups Local scientists/professionals Fisher people |
Forms of Mobilization | Blockades Creation of alternative reports/knowledge Involvement of national and international NGOs Official complaint letters and petitions Public campaigns Street protest/marches Refusal of compensation |
Environmental Impacts | Visible: Air pollution, Biodiversity loss (wildlife, agro-diversity), Loss of landscape/aesthetic degradation, Noise pollution, Deforestation and loss of vegetation cover Potential: Food insecurity (crop damage), Global warming, Soil contamination, Soil erosion, Waste overflow, Surface water pollution / Decreasing water (physico-chemical, biological) quality, Groundwater pollution or depletion, Large-scale disturbance of hydro and geological systems |
Health Impacts | Visible: Mental problems including stress, depression and suicide, Exposure to unknown or uncertain complex risks (radiation, etc…) Potential: Malnutrition, Violence related health impacts (homicides, rape, etc..) |
Other | Lung diseases due to dust and explosions |
Socio-economic Impacts | Visible: Loss of livelihood, Land dispossession, Specific impacts on women, Displacement, Loss of traditional knowledge/practices/cultures, Loss of landscape/sense of place |
Other | Cracks in the houses due to explosions |
Project Status | In operation |
Pathways for conflict outcome / response | Compensation Criminalization of activists Deaths Migration/displacement Repression Violent targeting of activists Application of existing regulations Project temporarily suspended |
Development of Alternatives | "The protestors want the mine to be closed definitively. Alternatively, the households affected could be resettled far away from the coal dust which threatens them with lung diseases. In addition to the dust, they say that the explosions in the mine cause vibrations which are damaging their homes, causing cracks to appear in the walls." [4] |
Do you consider this as a success? | No |
Why? Explain briefly. | By 2013, many of the resettled villagers and communities still felt misled and cheated by the outcomes of the resettlements which according to them, diverged significantly from what they had been promised. There also seems to still exist a lack of coherent, efficient complaint mechanisms, despite of the 2012 resettlement decree passed by the Mozambican government. There is police repression against people who want to use their own land which they have lost. |
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Other Comments | According to Kirscher and Power (2015, in Geoforum): "Tete hosts another planned energy mega-project with the pro-posed Mphanda Nkuwa dam, sited 60 km downstream from Cahora Bassa at a cost of US$2.2 billion. When completed, the project will produce 1300 MW of power and is intended to attract energy- intensive industries to Mozambique and to improve its balance of payments through regional electricity sales. Vigorously opposed by a range of civil society organisations.". Notice that much of electricity from Cahora Bassa goes to South Africa, is reimported by Mozambique, sold to Mozal for aluminium smelting that goes for export. |
Contributor | Boa Monjane / Martin |
Last update | 14/02/2019 |
Images |
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Map of mining licences in Tete province
Source: http://www.hrw.org/news/2013/05/23/mozambique-mining-resettlements-disrupt-food-water
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Protests of October 2018
Source: https://clubofmozambique.com/news/vale-mozambique-suspends-activities-in-moatize-after-protests-watch/
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Protests of October 2018
Source: https://www.dw.com/pt-002/mo%C3%A7ambique-moradores-em-protesto-paralisam-mina-da-vale-em-moatize/a-45931944
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