MarketMineral industry of Mozambique
Company Profile

Mineral industry of Mozambique

The mineral industry of Mozambique plays a significant role in the world's production of aluminium, beryllium, and tantalum. In 2006, Mozambique's share of the world's tantalum mine output amounted to 6%; beryllium, 5%; and aluminium, 2%. Other domestically significant mineral processing operations included cement and natural gas.

Production
The production of coal was estimated to have increased by 193% in 2006; granite, by 150%; garnet, 103%; diatomite, 33%; marble, 0.3%; cement, 55%; bauxite, 2.6%; dumortierite, 92%; and limestone, 0.5%. The production of aquamarine, beryl, niobium (columbium), tantalum, and tourmaline was estimated to have decreased by nearly 14% in 2006. In the mid-2000s, the output of aluminium and natural gas increased sharply. ==Structure of the mineral industry==
Structure of the mineral industry
Most of Mozambique's mining and mineral processing operations are privately owned, including the cement plants, the Mozal aluminium smelter, and the Temane gas processing plant. Artisanal miners produce gold and aquamarine, tourmaline, and other gemstones. Carbomoc E.E., which was the country's only coal producer, is state-owned. ==Commodities==
Commodities
Aluminium Mozambique is Africa's second ranked producer of aluminium after South Africa. Iron and steel In October 2006, Mittal Steel South Africa Ltd. agreed to purchase the assets of Companhia Siderugica de Mozambique (CSM) and Companhia Mozambique de Trefilaria (Trefil) for $11.45 million. HAMC also holds a license to produce tantalite from the Morrua mine, which had been shut down since the 1980s. in 2015, upset over the shooting of what the company said was an illegal miner. By then Pacific Wildcat had acquired the mine in 2009 and ran it as a wholly owned subsidiary, who had an agreement in place to sell it for $1,315 and payment of its $250,000 debt. Cement Cimentos de Mocambique SARL (Cimentos de Portugal, SGPS, SA (Cimpor), 65.4%) produces cement at its Dondo, Matola, and Nacala plants. ARJ Group opened a cement plant at Nacala in mid-2005. Coal Under Portuguese rule, few geological surveys had been done, but after independence, huge new coalfields were discovered in the north western Tete Province described by one source as "...one of the largest coal plays on the globe." In 2006 Vale of Brazil completed a feasibility study on the development of a mine in the Moatize basin coalfield in Tete. In 2006 Central African Mining also acquired exploration licenses in the Moatize basin coalfield and started construction of a mine. Beacon Hill converted the mine from underground to open-cast mining. In 2012 the Minas Moatize Coal Mine was estimated to have proven reserves of 25 million tons and probable reserves of 17 million tons of thermal coking coal. Beacon estimated production was 0.1 million tons of coal in 2012, transported to the port of Beira using a fleet of 40 trucks. Beacon hoped to reduce transport costs in the future by using the railway. In March 2012, Beacon Hill entered a marketing partnership with the Dutch Vitol trading group who would market and export the coal. In April 2010 the Australian company Riversdale Mining (bought by the Rio Tinto Group in 2011) opened the Benga coal project in Tete. Riversdale estimated in 2010 that the Benga coalfield had 502 million tons of coal reserves but in 2013 Rio Tinto downgraded these reserve estimates and noted that "...the development of infrastructure to support the coal assets is more challenging than Rio Tinto originally anticipated..." The Revuboè Mine project was another Moatize Basin coalfield mine. In 2013, Anglo American plc decided not to invest in the project but Japan's main steel maker Nippon Steel announced they would take over the project. Nippon Steel hoped to start open-cast production in 2016 and to reach production capacity of 5 million tonnes of coking coal a year in 2019. However, development of the Moatize basin coalfield depended crucially on the rehabilitation of the railway from Beira to Tete, and the construction of a maritime export terminal at Beira. RICON missed deadlines and had quality control issues, so, in December 2011, CFM, the Mozambique Ports and Railways authority, took over control of the Beira rail system. The reconstruction of the freight line was restarted in March 2012 but the work was still not finished by February 2013 In 2012 it was reported that coal exports had to be transported to Beira by a combination of truck and rail. Since Beira port was shallow, the coal had to be transported by barge out to larger vessels off the coast. In early 2013 floods prevented parts of the railway line from operating, coal stocks piled up and some coal mines had to stop production. In April 2013, three coal mining companies were reported to be building or planning to build their own railway lines to export their coal, possibly through Malawi to the deep water port of Nacala. Natural gas In 2010–2011, Anadarko Petroleum and Eni discovered the Mamba South gas field, recoverable reserves of 4,200 billion cubic metres (150 trillion cubic feet) of natural gas in the Rovuma Basin, off the coast of northern Cabo Delgado Province. Once developed, this could make Mozambique one of the largest producers of liquefied natural gas in the world. Production is scheduled to start in 2018. Sasol exported the gas through an 865-km pipeline to supply its South African chemical plants. In January 2017, 3 firms were selected by the Mozambique Government for the Natural Gas Development Projects in the Rovuma gas basin. GL Africa Energy (UK) was awarded one of the tenders. It plans to build and operate a 250 MW gas-powered plant. Meanwhile, the ambitions of Mozambique to become an exporter of liquefied natural gas (LNG) have progressed and Eni commissioned in 2022 its 3.4 mtpa Coral South FLNG in the Rovuma Basin. The country's first cargo of LNG was expected to be shipped towards the end of 2022. Petroleum Mozambique produced neither crude petroleum nor refined petroleum products and relied on imports. In early 2006, the Onshore Area in the Rovuma Basin was awarded to Artumas Group Inc. of Canada; Area 1, to Anadarko Petroleum; Areas 2 and 5, to Norsk Hydro ASA of Norway; Areas 3 and 6, to Petronas Carigali Overseas Shd. Bhd. of Malaysia; and Area 4, to ENI S.p.A. of Italy. Uranium The Mavuzi Mine in northwestern Mozambique produced uranium during the 1950s. OmegaCorp Ltd. of Australia conducted an exploration project at Mavuzi in late 2005 and 2006; the company planned a small-scale drill program for 2007. Tantalum MinesMarropino mine (Tantalum) • Morrua mine (Tantalum) • Muriane mine (Tantalum) ==Outlook==
Outlook
The Moma Mine was expected to increase economic growth in 2007, when it went into production. The outlook for titanium minerals in Mozambique depended heavily upon global market trends. The Moatize coal mine could boost economic growth in 2010; the development of the mine depended upon global market trends and the rehabilitation of rail and port infrastructure. Development of the Corridor Sands and the Mozal 3 projects depended upon reliable power supplies. Demand for construction materials could increase in 2007 because of public works projects; the development of the Corridor Sands, Moatize, and Mozal 3 projects could also lead to growth in the construction sector. In 2007, the production of limestone was expected to increase by 58%; marble slabs, 20%; sand, 9%; and marble blocks, 5%. ==References==
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