Negative forecast leads Rio Tinto to lay-off in Mozambique

The Anglo-Australian mining company Rio Tinto, which operates a gigantic open cast coal mine in Mozambique\'s western province of Tete, will lay off its staff due to gloomy profit prospects, state media reported Friday. Rio Tinto said it will lay off 76 of its staff including about 50 Mozambicans, the state news agency AIM said. All of the laid- off work in the mining research and exploration offices of the company. Early this year, Rio Tinto announced the write-down of its value by 70 percent and it pointed out the export challenges among the reasons. Mozambique, with its recent discoveries of huge coal reserves in Tete, is attracting international mining giants like Rio Tinto and Vale of Brazil to participate in exploitation