Dublin, Ireland, 12 July – Irish mining company Kenmare Resources Plc, which explores a titanium minerals deposit in Mozambique, is expected to gain market share from its competitors, including the Rio Tinto group, when it finishes its expansion plan at the Moma mine, said the company’s financial director.

Cited by financial news agency Bloomberg, Tony McCluskey noted that the company had large reserves of titanium minerals that could be mined at a low cost and added that other mining groups were at the stage of exhausting their reserves, “and can thus not increase production.”

Kenmare Resources plans to increase production of ilmenite to 1.2 million tons in 2013 and to 2 million tons per year in 2016 as compared to current production of 800,000 tons.

The pigment titanium dioxide (TiO2) is used to produce paints, paper and plastics and also has other applications. (macauhub)