Tete province in central Mozambique has proven reserves of around 700 million tons of iron ore and vanadium in the Angónia-Marávia plateau, said the provincial director of Mineral Resources and Energy.

Grácio Cune told daily newspaper Notícias that geological surveying was underway to determine, certify and prove the quantities of platinum and ziron in Tete province.

The geologist told the newspaper that the province also has gold, precious and semi-precious stones, manganese, and zinc among other minerals, such as decorative stones, limestone, gravel, sand and clays.

The peak of mineral prospecting occurred in the province, according to Cune, in 2013, when around 150 drilling machines were involved, operating with licenses in 372 mining concessions.

The provincial director of Mineral Resources and Energy said that in 2019 there had been a drop in coal prospecting in 235 areas, “probably driven by the drop in prices of the mineral on the international market, which affected the companies involved in the sector.”

The opening of the first open pit coal mine occurred in 2011 in the areas handed over in a concession to Vale Moçambique, along the Moatize carbon basin for two year after, in 2013, there was an increase in requests for new coal and metal mining licenses.

“At that time we registered a lot of requests to grant mining concession and to open a gold mine in Macanga district and we reached peak employment of around 9,000 national workers,” he said.