Vale’s coal production in Mozambique has been revised down from 15 million to 12 million tonnes this year, according to the Brazilian group’s production and sales report for the third quarter of 2018.

The report says that this downward review is due to subsidiary Vale Moçambique reviewing processes and plans for the Moatize mine in Tete province in order to make 2018 “the year of stabilisation.”

The group had announced in May that it forecast production of 15 million tonnes of coal, against the 16 million mark it had set previously, due to bad weather in the production zone.

Some of the actions that will make 2018 “the year of stabilisation,” thus ensuring a production increase in 2019 and the following years, include the removal of unusable material, opening up of new mining sections, preparation of new wells, “activities that resulted in a reduction in production.”

In August, the chief executive of the Mozambican subsidiary of Brazilian group Vale announced that it had ended the first half of the year with debt of US$7.9 billion, or an an increase of US$100 million compared to the amount recorded at the end of first quarter.

Marcelo Tertuliano also reported that the company’s net income in the second quarter remained negative at minus US$193 million, higher than the negative result of US$139 million in the first quarter.

Rains, high operating costs and appreciation of the Mozambican currency, the metical, are among the main negative influences on the performance of the company in the second quarter.