Investments in Mining On the Increase

Investments in research and development of projects in the Mozambican mining sector have been growing every year since 2001, and by 2007 the total invested had reached 686 million US dollars.

Initially, growth was slow. There was a steady increase in investment in the sector between 2001 and 2004, but it did not exceed 50 million dollars a year. But in 2005, there was investment of 169 million dollars, rising to 203 million dollars in 2006 and to 217 million in 2007.

The national director of mining, in the Ministry of Mineral Resources, Fatima Momade, attributes this growth to the overhaul of mining legislation, as from 2002, which has created the conditions for attracting investment.

"The whole point of the reform was to attract investment", Momade told reporters, "and we have achieved that. There are several projects under way, some still at the stage of exploration, some now entering the phase of development, not to mentions those that are already producing, such as the titanium-bearing heavy sands in Moma, the tantalite project in Zambezia, and the gold mining by the company Agrupamento Mineiro in Manica".

With the developments now under way, Momade expected the contribution of mining to the Mozambican Gross Domestic Product to rise from the current figure of five per cent to 15 per cent by 2010.

She added that the mining companies are contributing to the state budget through royalties and other taxes, are creating a significant number of jobs and are investing in schools, clinics, orphanages and other social projects that benefit the local populations

Momade said that to ensure that this sector keeps increasing its contribution, the government should continue with the legal reform, consolidate licensing procedures in the light of the decentralization policy, and improve tax collection by strengthening the monitoring and inspection of mining companies by the provincial directorates of mineral resources.

She also wanted to see better control over the sale of minerals through coordination between her ministry and the customs services, the police, and the local authorities.