JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Ireland-based Kenmare Resources has initiated a detailed engineering study to further investigate the potential of increasing the output at its Moma mine, in Mozambique, to 1,2-million tons a year of ilmenite and associated products.

The company reported on Tuesday that an expansion study to investigate the potential of increasing production at the titanium minerals mine had been completed earlier this month, providing it with options to increase the mine’s production by about 50%.

The LSE-listed company has subsequently started the detailed engineering study, under the supervision of engineering and construction services provider Aker Solutions, which it anticipated to be completed by the second quarter of this year.

Kenmare was hoping that these studies would also assist it in extending the life-of-mine of Moma by expanding the operations to the nearby Nataka resource, which contained in excess of 140-million tons of heavy mineral.

The addition of the Nataka resource could sustain production at the mine to “well beyond” 2050, the company noted in a statement to shareholders.

Kenmare chairperson Charles Carvill commented that the expansion study had been the first step towards putting the company in a position to benefit from improving market conditions for titanium minerals and zircon.

A continued rebound in pigment demand, especially from China and other developing countries, would likely lead to strong demand for titanium minerals in 2010, while growth in China and a recovery in European markets would also boost demand for zircon, the company stated.

It expected the titanium industry to continue seeing strong demand growth over the next five years.

Meanwhile, Carvill noted that the company was also pleased with continued production improvements at the mine.

Production at Moma had continued to improve in the fourth quarter of 2009, with heavy mineral concentrate output up 22% to 280 200 t, compared with 230 000 t in the previous quarter.

Finished ilmenite production rose 13% in the quarter to 147 000 t, compared with the third quarter of the year.

However, zircon production had remained relatively flat at 5 400 t for the quarter, mainly owing to disruptions in the implementation of further metallurgical improvement projects, Kenmare stated.

The company has since year-end commissioned additional equipment in the zircon circuit to improve output, it added.

Kenmare noted that heavy mineral concentrate production for the second half of the year had improved by 61%, compared with the first half of the year, while finished ilmenite output had increased by 39% over the same time frame.

Meanwhile, the company reported that while the mineral separation plant was capable of operating at the target feed rate, the recovery of minerals in the plant was still below target.

The mineral recoveries would, however, be raised to target levels during the first half of this year through existing metallurgical improvement projects.

An improvement in rutile production, which is interlinked with the zircon production, would also be achieved during the first six months of this year, as improvement projects on the zircon circuits are completed.