South Africa is the worlds sixth largest Coal producer. The Mpumalanga province accounts for 83 percent of South African coal production, while Free State, Limpopo, and KwaZulu-Natal also have producing mines. Anglo Americans Anglo Coal (Anglo), BHP Billingtons Ingwe Coal (Ingwe), domestic mining firms Eyesizwe Coal (Eyesizwe), Kumba Resources (Kumba), Sasol Mining (Sasol), and Swiss-based Xstrata Coal South Africa (XCSA) are all responsible for the majority of South Africas coal production. For more information on coal sector in South Africa please see the South African Country Analysis Brief.
Mozambique awarded Companhia do Vale do Rio Doce (CVRD) the rights to develop coal deposits in the Moatize mines. Moatize in northwestern Mozambique is considered to be the largest unexplored coal province in the world, with an estimated 2.4 billion tons of reserves. In May 2006, CVRD announced that it planned to submit a proposal to its executive board to begin work on the Moatize mines. The project will likely include the development and improvement of mine facilities and a power station. Indian company Rites & Ircon has already won a tender to construct a rail line between the mine and the ports of Nacala and Beira, which also can be used by Zimbabwe, Malawi, Zambia and DRC. A new deepwater port north of Beira is also expected.
Despite reserves of approximately 2.3 Mmst, Malawis Mchenga coal mine continues to produce below peak output due to financial constraints. Mchenga Coal Mines has been searching for additional reserves in the northern Livingstonia coalfields. According to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Affairs of Malawi the unexploited Mwabvi coalfield in the southern Shire River valley contains proven reserves of 5.5 Mmst, while the Lengwe coalfield contains probable reserves of 11 Mmst.