Mozambique expects to set a record in 2024 for the production of tantalite, a highly valued rare mineral sought after by the electronics industry, approaching 270 tonnes in one year, according to official data to which Lusa had access on Tuesday.
According to government documents with forecasts for 2024, Mozambique is expected to produce 268.9 tonnes of tantalite, an increase of 7% compared to this year’s plan. In 2022, the country planned to produce 251.3 tonnes of tantalite, while in 2021 it extracted just 178.5 tonnes and in 2020 just over 209 tonnes.
“The level of tantalite production up to the first half of 2023 stood at 51% of what had been planned and is expected to continue on the same trend until December,” explains the government in the same report.
“For 2024, a growth rate of 7% is expected, largely due to the high production levels of licence 724C of the Highland African Mining Company (HAMC), the largest producer of this mineral in the country,” it adds.
HAMC signed a concession agreement in 2002 to exploit this mineral in Mozambique.
Tantalite is a mineral made up of niobium and tantalum, sought after for its application in the electronics industry, in mobile phones and capacitors, due to its resistance to heat and other properties.