Irish Secure Backing For Rich Mozambique Titanium Sands Mine

---

Researched by Industrialinfo.com (Industrial Information Resources, Incorporated; Houston, Texas). A supply agreement with one of the world's largest users of titanium oxide feedstocks and further imminent announcements of supply agreements for ilmenite, zircon, and rutile have allowed the Irish junior mining company Kenmare Resources (LSE:KMR; IRISH SE:KMRI) (Dublin, Ireland) to identify funding and to go ahead with plans for a titanium bearing heavy mineral sands mining project at Moma in Mozambique. Dupont (NYSE:DD; NASDAQ:DIRX.OB), as a major white pigment producer, has not rebutted claims in the market that they are the anchor ilmenite client for Moma's output.

Kenmare has already spent $65 million on exploration and equipment. Construction is scheduled to start in 2003 followed by mining in 2004. The mining license granted by the Mozambican government gives Kenmare an Industrial Free Zone and favorable tax status.

The mine at Moma will be one of the world's lowest cost titanium producers. The titanium dioxide content of the deposit is rated at a high 54% to 55% and does not require smelting to upgrade it. It is directly chlorinatable which makes it an attractive product for pigment producers.

The deposit will produce around 600,000 tons of ilmenite/year, 25,000 tons of zircon and 12,000 tons of rutile/year and the feasibility study gives the mine a life of 20 years at this level of production. The project will use the dredge-mine method with the dredger and concentration plant floated on an artificial pond in the sand area. The sand is collapsed into the pond forming a sand and water slurry, which is dredged up and pumped to the concentrator.

Heavy mineral concentrate will be separated from the sand using spiral separators in a gravity process. The concentrate will go to a minerals separation plant and the distinct products will go by a 1.5 km conveyor belt to load 4,000 tons at a time on a barge to be taken to bulk carrier vessels moored offshore. There is a cost benefit in the mine being only between 2 km and 8 km away from its export shipping point. Where competitors in South Africa and Australia have transport costs to cover up to 100 km. Kenmare will become one of the world's top five titanium producers when Moma starts producing.

As a Greenfield site, Moma has no available electricity supply. Kenmare is installing a 170 kilometer 110 kV line to link the mine with the hydro generated power on the Cahora Bassa Ncala power line.