KOLKATA (miningweekly.com) – Indian major Coal India Limited (CIL) has budgeted some $624-million in capital expenditure (capex) during 2013/14 to develop its assets in Mozambique and partly fund new acquisitions during the year.

According to Coal Minister Sriprakash Jaiswal, CIL’s capex for domestic assets during the current year had been budgeted at $780-million.

He said that since early this year, the miner had received 32 proposals for the acquisition of or setting up of joint ventures for overseas coal assets, 17 of which were being considered.

CIL officials said that of the proposals received, the most prospective offer over which progress had been made to date was that by private owners of a coal asset in eastern Australia. Talks were being held and preliminary examination of data indicated it could yield initial production of around 30-million tonnes a year of coal.

However, officials declined to identify the asset on the grounds that nondisclosure agreements had been signed with several owners of assets from whom proposals had been received.

At least four nondisclosure agreements were signed by CIL last month and more would be concluded over the next month as a precursor to the appoinment of merchant bankers from a panel already drawn up and approved for the start of due diligence.

The officials said a due diligence exercise had already commenced in the case of the coal asset in eastern Australia.

Rio Tinto’s coal assets in Queensland were also on CIL's radar and preliminary discussions have been held between the two miners, although no confirmation was available from either CIL or the Coal Ministry.

According to the Coal Ministry, part of the funds earmarked for overseas investments would be riding on completing exploration work on CIL coal assets in Tete province, in Mozambique, by mid-2014, following which development plans for the blocks would be drawn up.

Officials in the Ministry said that the first stage of the Mozambique project had been completed, including geological mapping and marking of boundaries of the block.

CIL’s Mozambique project was being implemented by its wholly owned subsidiary, Coal India Africana Limited, which was awarded the developmental rights to the blocks by the Mozambique government in 2009.