Tata Steel, Riversdale to take full control of $1-bn Mozambique power plant

Tata Steel and its Australian joint-venture partner Riversdale Mining have agreed to take full ownership of the $1 billion Benga Power Plant (BPP) in the Tete province of Mozambique.

Riversdale, which is in the midst of a $3.9-billion takeover bid by mining giant Rio Tinto, said that the JV is buying the 50 per cent stake in BPP from Elgas SARL, a joint venture between several Mozambican and South African groups.

Following the acquisition Riversdale will own 65 per cent of BPP, while Tata Steel will own the remaining 35 per cent. Both companies have not disclosed the financial terms of the transaction.

The Sydney-based miner said in a statement, "Following discussions with Elgas SARL, the parties have agreed that the Benga JV has the resources and is best placed to accelerate development of the BPP".

The Benga JV between Tata Steel and Riversdale was set up in 2007 to develop Riversdale's Benga hard coking and thermal coal project.

Tata paid A$100 million ($88.2 million) to acquire a 35-per cent stake in the project, as well as a 40-per cent share of the coking coal off-take.