Residents of the town of Moatize in Mozambique’s Tete province are complaining about the effects of increased pollution due to the activities of Vulcan, an Indian group exploring for coal in the region.
“Your mining and extraction practices are not in line with the human experience that is protected and safeguarded by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,” reads a letter delivered to the company by representatives from at least eight Moatize districts that Lusa had access to this Sunday.
In the past three years alone, Vulcan has produced more than 35 million tonnes of coal annually at its mines in Moatize, in central Mozambique. The operation was bought in April 2022 from Brazil’s Vale for more than $270 million (€257 million).
Residents say the company’s activities are putting the health and infrastructure of communities at risk, making the environment “completely inhospitable.”
“We live in a constantly and excessively polluted environment, which greatly compromises the immune system of adults and the health of new and future generations, the latter being the most vulnerable. […]”We are the heirs to the damage caused by the exploitation of Vale and now Vulcan,” the letter from the applicants says, promising not to refer the case to the authorities for now, pending a decision.
Lusa tried unsuccessfully to get a position from Vulcan.
The privately held Indian company is part of the $18 billion (€16.5 billion) Jindal Group and was previously present in Mozambique, operating the Chiroji mine, also in the Tete region.
Vale has been present in Mozambique for 15 years, operating the Moatize mine and 912 kilometres of railway in the Nacala logistics corridor for transporting coal.
In May this year, Vulcan’s president told Lusa that he hoped to reach 50 to 52 million tons this year and become one of the world’s largest producers.
“When we came to power in 2022, our production was about 23 or 24 million tons. […]”In the last three years, the number has grown to about 35-36 million. By the end of this year, we will reach about 50-52 million tonnes. So, we will become the second largest metallurgical coal mining company in the world,” Mukesh Kumar said then.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
I am Michael Melvin, an experienced news writer with a passion for uncovering stories and bringing them to the public. I have been working in the news industry for over five years now, and my work has been published on multiple websites. As an author at 24 News Reporters, I cover world section of current events stories that are both informative and captivating to read.