The Mozambique government and Chinese companies Anhui Foreign Economic Construction (Group) Co Ltd and Yunnan Xinli Non-Ferrous Metals Co Ltd signed a contract for exploration of heavy mineral sands in Chibuto in the southern region of the country reports a local media outlet.

The Chinese companies are expected to invest over US$471 million in the project and expect to extract about one million tonnes per year of ilmenite (iron titanium oxide) over 25 years, the newspaper Notícias said.

The ore will be transported to the port of Maputo in order to be shipped to China, where it will be processed.

Heavy mineral sands allow the extraction of metals such as ilmenite, rutile and zircon, used in several advanced-technology industries, including aerospace and telecommunications.