Mozambique newspaper Diário de Moçambique, which is published in the port city of Beira, the capital of Sofala province, has reported that the TCT–Indústrias Florestais (TCT-IF) company is to invest $3-million into its Catapu limestone project. The newspaper cited TCT-IF manager James Whaite as its source.

The project is located in the Cheringoma district of Sofala, some 20 km south-west of the town of Caia. The mining licence area covers 27 km2 and is actually within a 24 812 ha forestry concession, also held by TCT-IF (Indústrias Florestais means Forestry Industries). Indeed, the exploration licence is part of the forestry concession. The original exploration budget for the project was $200 000. Only limited exploration work had previously been done on the deposit, with the result that no resource had been determined. There was, however, evidence that small-scale mining activities had taken place in the past.

Whaite told the newspaper that the aim was to commercialise the limestone alongside agricultural products, “in this way permitting the increase in the production and productivity of the sector”. (The already operating forestry side of the business includes a sawmill and a factory producing furniture and semifinished products for export.)

TCT-IF is 52%-owned by London-Aim- listed, British Virgin Islands registered, junior miner Premier African Minerals. This majority stake was acquired in November last year for $2.1-million and entailed buying 26% of TCT-IF’s total equity from each of the two partner companies that originally owned the business, namely Transport Commodity Trading Mozambique and GAPI Sociedade de Investimentos.

The exploration licence for the limestone was granted to TCT-IF in January 2016 and is valid for two years. It can then be renewed for another two years. (The forestry concession is valid for another ten years and can be renewed for a further 50 years. The forestry licence allows the company to cut 3 000 m3 of timber a year, as well as exploit historically cut and dead timber. The forestry concession area also includes a 9 963 ha hunting concession and a 28-bed lodge, which also belong to TCT-IF. The forestry and tourism part of the business is expected to be self-sustaining. The company is increasing the volumes of timber it is producing by carrying out a limited refurbishment of the saw mill.)

In a corporate presentation delivered in August, Premier African Minerals stated that “[p]reliminary testwork on surface material indicates acceptable grades of calcium carbonate for limestone and cement production; solubility for Agri-lime; and material that is suitable for aggregates production.” (Agri-lime, or agricultural limestone, is a soil additive that increases crop production.) The company added that it was “[p]lanning a[n] exploration programme and preliminary scoping study over the course of 2017”. On its website, Premier African Minerals reports that its “board believes that there is good local demand for lime for cement production, agricultural applications, as well as aggregates.”