Kenmare Moma Mining, a subsidiary of Ireland’s Kenmare Resources, is planning five public sessions in Mozambique this month on the need to relocate people to expand its heavy sands exploration, according to Mozambican daily newspaper Noticias.

The company said in a statement issued recently that the resettlement plan, “is being developed to address the issues of households in the communities directly affected by the project to start operating a new heavy sands deposit.”

The purpose of this public consultation, which is the responsibility of Coastal & Environmental Services Mozambique Lda (CES), is to inform stakeholders about the objectives, relevance and the impacts of the process.

The plan for expansion of Kenmare Moma Mining comes at a time when Kenmare Resources has reported an increase of production at the Moma mine, both of processed material and of minerals extracted for export.

In the third quarter, the company processed 7.788 million tonnes of material, against 7.160 million a year before and extracted 277,800 tonnes of ores, compared with 265,700 tonnes in the same period of 2016.

The company also said ore exports fell 26% to 208,400 tonnes, as a result of scheduled stoppage for maintenance of the main vessel that carries out the trans-shipment of products. (macauhub)