Kenya will offer 31 coal blocks after deal with China’s Fenxi

Bloomberg reports Kenya will sign a concession accord this week with a Chinese mining company to develop a coal deposit of 400 million tons.

{mosads}Chinese company Fenxi Mining Industry Co. will sign the agreement on Tuesday, which also allows Kenya to tender 31 more blocks of coal.

Fenxi will gain control of two of the blocks.

Kenya plans to start coal production within 30 months, enabling the country to rely on its domestic supplies to fuel its northern coast.

“Signing the first agreement will send a positive signal to investors, and open the way for us to tender the other blocks” by the end of the first quarter of 2014, said John Omenge, chief geologist at Kenya’s Energy Ministry.