TONNES OF MINERALS SEIZED OVER 18 MONTHS

Mozambique’s Minister of Mineral Resources, Esperanca Bias, on Wednesday said that since January 2010 about 7.5 tonnes of various minerals have been seized by the authorities. Many fines have also been imposed for breaches of mining legislation.Bias stated that measures are being taken to strengthen the capacity of the ministry to intervene to prevent illegal mining and environmental damage.Esperanca Bias was speaking at a session of her ministry’s Coordinating Council, held at the Pequenos Libombos resort, 40 kilometres west of Maputo.She said that efforts to tackle illegal mining and the trafficking of its products have been stepped up through improved inspection and monitoring at national level.In particular, action has been increased in the provinces of Cabo Delgado, Nampula, Zambezia, Manica, Tete and Maputo.According to the minister, the three-day meeting will review the ministry’s activities since July 2010 and actions that will be undertaken during the rest of this year.The ministry will look at the best way to carry out the government programme to develop the economy and fight poverty.Bias outlined the major mining projects on the horizon, and mentioned the exploration work currently taking place on heavy mineral sands at Jangamo and Xai Xai, in Inhambane and Gaza provinces.She pointed out that the heavy sands project at Moma, in Nampula province, is expected to complete its expansion by the end of next year. This will increase its capacity to mine ilmenite from the currently level of 800,000 tonnes to 1.2 million tonnes per year.The minister added that a licence has recently been awarded for the mining of heavy mineral sands at Angoche, in Nampula province. The mine is expected to produce 57,550 tonnes of ilmenite and 29,500 tonnes of zircon per year, and employ 835 workers.She also pointed out that there have been encouraging results from prospecting for base metals and precious metals in the provinces of Tete, Manica, Sofala, Niassa and Cabo Delgado. Among the metals found are gold, copper, zinc, nickel, vanadium and silver.In particular, considerable amounts of nickel have been found in Mwirite, in Cabo Delgado province, and prospecting is continuing to see if this is economically viable to mine.