Mozambique’s Justice Minister Isaque Chande has called on the country’s mining sector to look to the future as it goes through a difficult period of economic downturn.

Chande was addressing a seminar in Maputo on Tuesday called to discuss the impact of the fall in the global prices of minerals.

The two-day seminar is focusing on the implications of low mineral prices on the Mozambican mining industry and the effect on sustainable development.

The official stated that in periods of economic downturn companies should plan and undertake structural measures to secure investments.

Over the last decade, geological surveys have identified huge mineral resources in Mozambique, including at least twenty billion tonnes of coal and 200 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.

In addition, the country has large deposits of titanium bearing heavy sands and graphite.

These discoveries have put the country on the map as one of the world’s major sources of mineral resources and since the global financial crisis of 2008, producer countries have been facing the challenge of reduced demand and lower commodity prices.

For example, since 2008 the international price of thermal coal has fluctuated from above US$120 per tonne to below US$60. This has led companies to stockpile coal and reduce production.

Source: StarAfrica