New Mozambique Mine Opens Up Tantalizing Development Prospects

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Researched by Industrialinfo.com (Industrial Information Resources Incorporated; Houston, Texas). A new tantalite mine in Mozambique is being commissioned and will start production this month. The Marropino mine in the country's Zambezia province is operated by Highland African Mining (Jersey) and has an annual production potential of around 300,000 lbs of tantalite. Work is in progress on the commissioning of satellite operations a few kilometers from the main pit, which will produce 50,000 lbs of tantalite per annum.

When these output figures are reached Marropino could become the third largest tantalite mine in the world after the Greenbushes and Wodgina mines in Australia.

More than 500 tons of steel was required to build the plant and equip the area with recreational and residential facilities. All materials had to be transported 160 kilometers on dirt roads from the district capital Quelimane. Construction in the remote area where the mine is sited was made possible only with the close cooperation of the Mozambican authorities at every stage. The design and procurement for the plant was carried out by ETS (Johannesburg, South Africa).

Ore from the openpit will be fed to the plant feed bin over a static grizzly. Oversized material will be stockpiled for future processing when the operation is expanded to include a hard rock crushing plant. Sized material is fed to a hydrochute and wet sizing screens. High pressure water spray is used for washing and sizing and for removing clay content.

The expansion will coincide with the installation of an electrical transmission power line. The Mozambican power utility company EDM is conducting a feasibility study for the electrification of the region in which the mine is situated. The provision of line power will contribute to a major upliftment of life in the area. A diesel storage and generating facility has been built to supply power in the interim.

Water used for operating the plant is supplied from an existing ground dam augmented by river water which is pumped and channeled by canals over 10 kilometers. Dirty water is recovered and re-used. Thickener underflow is pumped to a tailings dam for settlement and further recovery of water. The plant uses around 750 cubic meters of water per hour of which 700 cubic meters is recovered.

The mine has an expected life of between 15 and 20 years.

Highland African has more concessions in the area that it expects to develop once Marropino is fully off the ground. There are indications of large tantalite deposits over the region. The ministry of mines in Mozambique has a vision to integrate and develop the operations in the tantalite belt and to ?put Mozambique back on the map?. Before decades of civil war ravaged the country and halted mining activities it had been one of the world?s largest tantalite producers.

70% of tantalite (the oxide of the metal tantalum) output is used in the electronics industry in the manufacture of mobile phones, laptop computers and video cameras. Tantalite is finding new uses in the manufacturing of turbine blades used in power stations and jet engines, improving the structural integrity of the blades at high temperatures.

In addition to its South African operation, ETS has completed projects in Namibia, Botswana, Egypt and Kenya and is currently building a large crushing plant in Tanzania.