The Mozambican Government said today that there is a team working to ensure that the future of Mozal does not harm any of those involved, following the announcement of the suspension of activities by Mozambique’s largest industry. “There is a team that is doing its work with Mozal, with the entities involved, to ensure that the future of Mozal is not detrimental to any of the parties,” said the spokesperson of the Council of Ministers, Inocêncio Impissa, after another session of the body, in Maputo. Minister Impissa was reacting to the announcement made today by Mozal of the suspension of activities in the country from 15 March 2026, due to the lack of a new electricity supply agreement.
“A new electricity supply agreement has not been secured, and Mozal will be placed on care and maintenance on or around 15 March 2026. Accordingly, raw materials required to sustain operations beyond March 2026 have not been procured,” readsa statementfrom the management of the Australian company South32, sent to the media. According to the document, Mozal has continued to engage with the Government of the Republic of Mozambique, Hidroeléctrica de Cahora Bassa (HCB), and Eskom to seek sufficient and affordable electricity supply for Mozal beyond March 2026, when the current agreement expires.
Without providing many details, Inocêncio Impissa said that when the outcome of the talks is “effectively concluded”, it will be announced through the Council of Ministers or by the Ministry of Mineral Resources and Energy, which is carrying out the “follow-up of the substantive issues” with Mozal. “It is this [Ministry] that is responsible for technically following the essential issues. And this sector therefore leads a technical team for the negotiation processes, the discussions and all the details that must take place around this Mozal matter,” concluded the spokesperson of the Mozambican Government.
Read Full Article on Club of Mozambique
[paywall]
According to theSouth32 statement, the cost of placing Mozal into care and maintenance, including contract terminations, is expected to be around US$60 million (€51 million), and the ongoing annual costs of care and maintenance will be around US$5 million (€4.2 million). READ:South32 to place Mozal smelter under care in March 2026 South32 to place Mozal smelter under care in March 2026 Mozal announced in August that it intends to cut investment and lay off contracted service providers, maintaining operations only until March, claiming it lacks conditions for continuity. A few days later, the Confederation of Economic Associations (CTA) of Mozambique revealed that Mozal had “abruptly” terminated contracts with around 20 companies, leaving at least one thousand people unemployed.
On 22 August, the Mozambican Government considered the fiscal contribution of the country’s largest industry to be “extremely low”, expressing interest in moving forward with a review of its obligations in this area. Mozal purchases almost half of the energy produced in Mozambique and has an estimated weight of at least 3% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). On 18 August, the Mozambican President stated that the energy tariffs proposed by Mozal would lead to the collapse of HCB, reacting to the threat of closure of the aluminium smelting unit in 2026.
[/paywall]
