Carbosuroeste in Russian power talks

Venezuelan coal miner Carbones del Suroeste (Carbosuroeste) is in discussions with a Russian company about the possibility of developing a thermoelectric plant in Santo Domingo using coal from its recently opened mines in Venezuela's Táchira state, company president Helcias Benaim told BNamericas. Coal production began in September on four concessions with reserves of 400Mt following a US$70mn investment, BNamericas previously reported. Plans to develop a 300MW power plant at Santo Domingo to supply western Venezuela would take advantage of the largest of the four coal concessions. "An agreement has been signed for the studies and we hope that in four months we will have the feasibility study for the building of the plant," Benaim said. The company is to restart mining operations at the Hato La Virgen mine that was last exploited a decade ago, and has issued a call for investors to participate. "We have had a lot of interest from the US, Australia, China, and Brazil. Everyone is interested in coal," he said. Carbosuroeste - owned by Fondo de Inversiones de Venezuela (FIV) - aims to produce 2Mt-3Mt/y of coal once all concessions are being mined.