Rio Tinto Sents a Notification to Operations Contractor South Africa-Based Eqstra Holdings

Australian miner Rio Tinto has sent a notification to its mining operations contractor South Africa-based Eqstra Holdings, confirming that it has declared force majeure on coal exports from its Benga mine in Tete province and that all the mining operations at the mine have been suspended as of February 20, following the closure of the Sena railway line.

The Sena railway line used to transport most of the coal mined in Mozambique's Tete province to the port of Beira has been shut down indefinitely. Emergency repair works are being carried out on the line which has been affected by heavy rainfall since early February. The authorities cannot give a specific date for the reopening of the line because weather conditions remain threatening.

As SteelOrbis previously reported, Vale declared force majeure on February 15 on a number of contracts for coal sales from Mozambique, estimating a loss of approximately 250,000 mt of metallurgical coal shipments.