The Chinese company Ding Sheng Minerals, SA, which operates the Chibuto heavy sands mine in the southern province of Gaza, will be able to carry out its first shipment by sea in August, as construction work on the Chongoene dock, the infrastructure that will be used to dock vessels, is due to be completed soon.
The guarantee was given on Tuesday (20) by the project manager, You Jian Ping, who explained that the work is progressing at a satisfactory pace, adding that all disagreements with the communities have already been resolved.
Speaking to the press, he explained that the work is divided into three phases, the first of which will be completed by next August, during which time the export of Chibuto’s heavy sands from the maritime infrastructure to various countries around the world could begin.
“The construction of the Chongoene dock arose from the need to find a flexible and profitable way of exporting heavy sands, avoiding the high costs of transporting them by road to the Port of Maputo and then to foreign markets,” he said.
Ding Sheng Minerals has been operating in the Chibuto district since 2018, when it installed a unit with the capacity to process 10,000 tonnes of sand a day. Its concession has a term of 25 years and, during this period, it is expected to extract one million tonnes of ilmenite (titanium and iron oxide) a year, as well as heavy sands.
