Firdhose Coovadia, Essar’s resident director of the Middle East and Africa, told Reuters: “We have an expanding and growing power business in India which requires quite a bit of feedstock and we are trying to secure that feedstock from South Africa.”
As reported, the firm looks at securing six million tonnes each year to meet demand in India. Essar also plans to sell coal to the power generation market in South Africa and elsewhere on the continent.
Mr Coovadia added: “We need to fulfil those obligations and therefore require steady and competitively priced feedstock to meet our obligations.”
The company, which has coal mines in India, has identified certain South African coal mines. Potential targets and diligence studies are now underway. Essar also seeks to source coal from Australia and Indonesia.
