Mining company Vale announced that coal production in Mozambique increased by 78.1% and sales almost doubled in the third quarter of 2021 compared to 2020, according to data from the company's latest report.

Coal production in the third quarter of 2021 stood at 2.4 million tons and sales amounted to 2.6 million tons. Meanwhile, expansion of indicators between July and August follows the trend already seen in the previous three months.

"Energy coal" used and thermal power plants recorded the largest increase in sales by staying above 160% relative to 2020. This overtook "coking coal" (up 42%) used in the metallurgical industry.

Lusa reports that this was due to the upgrading of the Moatize mines and the growing demand for the resource in Asian markets as a consequence of the gradual recovery of the economy after a sharp decline last year caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

This year, by the end of last month, Vale had already produced 5.6 million tons of coal in Moatize, compared to 4.6 million in the first nine months of 2020.