The consortium gained control of the Benga mine as part of its recent acquisition of Rio Tinto Coal Mozambique for $50m.
ICVL chairman CS Verma was quoted by The Times of India as saying: "The Benga mine currently produces five million tonnes per annum and our first priority is to ramp this up to 11 to 12 million tonnes in the next three to four years, and to 16 million tonnes over the next four to five years.
"There are various options that we have and these include contract mining or going in for mining development cum operations (MDO) agreement. These details will be sorted out as we move forward."
A detailed project report will be prepared for the proposed plans.
Around 30 people will be sent to Mozambique to commence the operations and the first coal is expected to be shipped to India by December.
ICVL comprises Steel Authority of India, Rashtriya Ispat Nigam, NMDC, Coal India and NTPC, and was established to acquire coking coal mines overseas.
Image: Rio Tinto Coal Mozambique operations include the Benga coal mine and Tete coal projects. Photo: © 2014 Rio Tinto.
