Mining company Kenmare – which operates one of the world’s largest titanium and zircon producers, the Moma (Nampula) mine on the country’s north-east coast – has appointed James McCullough to the position of Chief Financial Officer (CFO), with effect from 1 May 2025.
According to a Mining Weekly publication, the selection followed a thorough search process led by Kenmare’s nomination committee, in conjunction with an independent executive search firm. ‘McCullough brings extensive mining experience that is strategic to Kenmare’s development. He worked at diversified miner Rio Tinto for 14 years, most recently as GM Group Strategy. He has held various positions in Rio’s group finance team, including business valuation, shared services and as a business executive.’
According to Kenmare, the newly appointed has also led and supported major financial and strategic initiatives across a number of businesses and, given his various roles, has gained in-depth knowledge of all aspects of the global mining industry, including titanium minerals operations and markets.
‘Prior to joining Rio, he was a natural resources equity analyst at Davy Group, where he covered a number of natural resources companies, including Kenmare. McCullough has a PhD in Engineering from University College Dublin and an Executive MBA from Bayes Business School, and is a Chartered Accountant.’

The Moma mine contains reserves of heavy minerals, including titanium, ilmenite and rutile, which are used as raw materials to produce titanium dioxide pigment, as well as the relatively high-value zirconium silicate mineral, zircon, according to the company.
The mining company made export shipments totalling 302,700 tonnes of various heavy minerals in the third quarter of this year, an increase of 85% compared to the same period in 2023 and 29% compared to the second quarter of 2024.
The mining company announced in April 2023 that it plans to exploit a new deposit in two years on the Moma concession, signalling the mine’s longevity and profitability.
Kenmare, of Irish origin and operating in Mozambique through subsidiaries in Mauritius, previously announced that it would pay 30.5 million dollars in 2023 to the state in fees and taxes. It is one of the world’s largest producers of mineral sands, listed on the London and Dublin stock exchanges, and production in the country accounts for approximately 7 per cent of global titanium raw materials.
The company supplies clients operating in more than 15 countries who use the heavy minerals in paints, plastics and ceramics.