Maputo, Mozambique, 24 May – Vale Moçambique, a subsidiary of Brazil’s Vale group, will annually produce 1 million tonnes of iron concentrate when it begins exploiting mines in the Monapo district of Nampula province, reports the Maputo-based daily Noticias.

Vale Moçambique director Julio Barroso told the newspaper that the company, which specialises in extracting and commercialising ore, had signed contracts to sell iron concentrate to China and Oman.

Effective operations for the deal will get under way in the next four years and Vale Moçambique expects to earn US$100 million exporting iron ore concentrate to those two countries.

Iron deposits located at Evate in Monapo district are sufficient to be exploited for an estimated 28 years, indicate prospecting studies conducted by Vale Moçambique in the last three years.

Vale’s Monapo project includes the construction of various infrastructures comprising processing plants, a dam to ensure water supply and an electric power plant, among others. It will employ about 800 workers, 10 percent of them foreigners. (macauhub)