Mozambique Energy Profile 2012

In a positive development for the mining sector, in October 2009, the Mozambican government announced that it had secured US$500mn in funding from Holland, Denmark and the EU to build a new railway line, linking the coal mines of Moatize with the port at Nacala. Transport Minister Paulo Zucula, was confident that construction of the line could begin by year-end. This expansion of rail infrastructure should do much to boost the development of the mining sector in the years ahead.

Country Overview Mozambique is rich in mineral resources including gold, marble, heavy minerals from coastal sands, pegmatite, iron ore, diatomite, bentonite, tantalite, graphite, precious and semi-precious stones, bauxite, granite, phosphates, clays, asbestos, beryllium and mica. In recent years, coal mining has also been a key growth area for Mozambique.

There are several high-profile mining projects underway in the African nation, including Vale’s US$1.5bn Moatize coal project and Kenmare Resources’ US$450mn Moma titanium project. In June 2009, local media reported that Mozambique had established a new state-controlled mining company – Empresa Mocambicana de Exploracao Mineira (EMEM) – to explore and market mineral resources. Government spokesman, Luis Covane, was quoted as saying, that the principal objective of EMEM will be to explore geological mining, production and trade of mining products, the trade of raw materials with mining utilities, advising, consulting and undertaking research and prospecting for mining resources.

Industry Forecast Mozambique is in the process of developing its rich endowments of titanium and coal in particular. We believe that the scene is set for quick sectoral growth across our forecast period to 2014. Areas that need to be addressed by the government include tackling corruption and improving infrastructure. The authors believe that the Mozambican mining sector can reach an average annual growth rate of 8.4% across our forecast period. Many new mining facilities are scheduled to start production over the coming years, which should boost overall output levels.

Mozambique Mining Report Q2 2010