Companies headed by Chinese businessman Wu Tao have been at work for nearly 10 years in Mozambique’s heavy sands, which are prized for the titanium-rich ilmenite they contain. Now, they have extended their search for the precious mineral to the seabeds of the country’s coastal waters.
After the gas deposits off the coast of Cabo Delgado (read our running story), it is now the seabed off the province of Zambezia which is attracting foreign investors, albeit for very different reasons. They are interested in the titanium-rich ilmenite to be found in the heavy sands there.
The Africa Ocean Non-ferrous Mining Development Co, which was registered in Mozambique on 30 January 2021, is a joint venture between Jinan Yuxiao Group Co and China Yuxiao Resources Holdings, two companies owned by Chinese businessman Wu Tao.
The new company has five offshore exploration permits along more than 280 km of coast in the province of Zambezia, central Mozambique. These were awarded in 2019 to five sister companies, Africa Ocean Non-ferrous Mining Development Company I, II, III, V and VI.
Wu Tao has invested massively in the Mozambican economy, particularly in mining, construction, and hotels.His flagship mining company, Africa Great Wall Mining Development Co, has been operating a major titanium mining site near the coastal city of Quelimane, capital of Zambezia, since 2012.
It is in the waters lying off this on-land site that Africa Ocean Non-ferrous Mining Development Co plans to begin exploring the seabed. The company expects to find titanium in the sands close to the numerous river mouths and deltas in the region.
