Mutapa Mining and Processing (MMP), a consortium of Mozambicans and British that has for 18 months been operating three mines in the district of Manica, in the province of the same name, intends from this February to process and export between 35 and 40 kilograms of gold monthly.
The projection is the result of prospecting carried out over the last 18 months by the consortium which, in a first phase, invested in the equipment and machinery component.
General director of MMP, Tim Wilkes, says that, over the next two years, the company intends to reach production levels established in markets such as Switzerland, Dubai and South Africa.
“In the prospecting phase, the company was looking for places with signs of gold deposits, and the areas identified make us confident of a good campaign in the coming months,” Wilkes said.
This forecast is contained in the report presented a few days ago to the Secretary of State in Manica, Fernando Bemane de Sousa, who visited the mining unit, which employs 318 workers, of whom 303 are Mozambicans.
Fernando Bemane de Sousa praised the company for reducing unemployment and encouraged its managers to increase gold production in order to increase tax contribution.
Bemane de Sousa pronounced himself satisfied with the sustainable way the ore was being processed, noting that the company had reservoirs for decanting water containing mercury, thereby helping prevent pollution.