By: The Herald

Mozambique’s coal mines, including the country’s largest operation, are laying off hundreds of workers following post-electoral violence and a slump in the price of the nation’s biggest export.

A unit of Vulcan International, which owns the Moatize mine, has told the government it intends to cut 105 workers, an official with the Ministry of Labour said. Vulcan directly employs 3 365 people at its operations in Tete province, according to the firm’s website.

Vulcan - headed by Indian businessman Naveen Jindal -  has attributed the proposed reduction in workforce to a restructuring of the company and a fall in coal prices, Adelaide Jantar, a provincial inspector at the ministry, told Bloomberg.

Other coal mining companies are also cutting hundreds of workers, she said.

Violent protests following contested elections in October “made things worse,” she said. “We have never had such a huge number of dismissals in recent times.”

Vulcan Mozambique did not respond to emails requesting comment. Jindal’s company acquired the Moatize asset from Brazil’s Vale for US$270 million in late 2021.

Coal sales, which are Mozambique’s biggest export, were worth us$2 billion last year, according to data from the country’s central bank.

Futures for coal loaded at South Africa’s Richards Bay port are down about 17 percent since the start of the year.