World largest titanium mine put into production in Mozambique

A titanium ore dredge mine, Mozambique's largest mining project to date, is under way at Topuito on the coast of the Northern Province Nampula, local media reported on Saturday.

Mozambican President Armando Guebuza on Friday inaugurated the mine at Topuito of the Northern Province Nampula, which can supply 6 percent of the total world demand for titanium feedstock, AIM said.

The mine has been developed by the Irish company Kenmare Resources, which has invested 500 million U.S. dollars since prospection into the heavy mineral deposits began in 1987. The mine is set to become one of the world's largest suppliers of titanium ores.

Titanium metal is light, strong and chemically inert. It is used in the aerospace and automobile industries. But the main use of the titanium ores is for the production of pigment by chemical companies. Everyday items such as paints, paper and plastic depend on titanium for their colouring.

From the heavy mineral sands of Topuito, Kenmare plans to produce 800,000 tons of ilmenite (iron titanium oxide) and 21,000 tons of rutile (titanium dioxide) a year. The mine should also produce 56,000 tons a year of a third ore, zircon (zirconium silicate), which is used in ceramics.

At the inauguration of the mine on Friday, the Kenmare managing director Michael Cargill recalled that "at times it seemed impossible to continue". The negotiations were "long and tough," he admitted, "but I believe we ended up as good friends as well as negotiating partners."

Exports have not yet begun, since the barge, built in Singapore, has not reached Topuito. Cargill told reporters that the barge left the Sri Lankan capital of Colombo, about a month ago, and is expected to reach Mozambique on about Nov. 8.

The first confirmed export is 25,000 tons of ilmenite for a company in Slovenia. But Cargill says that major chemical companies elsewhere in Europe, in America, Japan and China, are all interested in obtaining titanium ores from Topuito.

Since 1987, Kenmare has spent about 500 million dollars on heavy sands prospection, and on building the Topuito infrastructures. Of this, 275 million dollars is in the form of bank loans and the rest is equity.

Cargill was confident of paying off the loans on schedule, and believes that the mine would make a return on the investment "in maybe ten years."

The mine and its associated structures provide about 400 jobs. Kenmare wants to recruit the unskilled and semi-skilled labor locally, although expatriate technical staff will still be required for many years to come, since this is the first time such a mine has been built in Mozambique.