The coal from the East African nation is
8–10 per cent cheaper than the now popular South African offering
Indian sponge iron mills have started warming up to Mozambican
thermal coal, as an alternative, and more so with the coal coming in at least
8–10 per cent cheaper than the now popular South African offerings.
The price of Mozambican being offered is around $207 per tonne –
lower than its current market price (of $220 – 240 per tonne); and also cheaper
than the South African variant, currently priced between $225 and 250 per
tonne.
Nearly 1,00,000 tonnes of grade VT-1 coal from Mozambique and
from Vulcan Energy’s mines are expected to come into India in the first week of
August. The South African variant popular with the sponge iron mills is the RB
2 variant, which has an NAR of 5,500 kcal/kg.
Australian coal does not find much usage because of the kiln specification of
Indian millers.
“The offer price made by the trading company that is bringing in
the Mozambican coal is around $207 per tonne, which is quite a bit cheaper than
the RB2 variants. So some mills have started showing some interest,” a sponge
iron mill owner told BusinessLine.