Mozambique: Kenmare Resources shipments run ahead despite WCP A ramp-up and weak prices

Managing Director Tom Hickey told investors that shipments are the company’s “highest priority” in 2026, rather than production volumes, because Kenmare entered the year with substantial finished goods inventory. The company reported first-half shipments of 556,000 tonnes and said it remains on track for annual shipments guidance of more than 1.1 million tonnes. Kenmare owns and operates the Moma Titanium Minerals Mine in Mozambique, where it produces ilmenite, rutile and zircon.

Hickey said the company accounts for about 6% of global titanium minerals supply and a similar proportion of Mozambique’s exports. He also noted that titanium has been included on critical minerals lists in Europe, the U.K. and the U.S.

Chief Operating Officer Ben Baxter said the first half was a safe period, with no lost-time injuries recorded. However, heavy mineral concentrate production fell 37% year over year, reflecting expected lower ore grades as mining at Namalope nears its end, as well as lower excavated ore volumes tied to a slower-than-expected ramp-up of WCP A. Ilmenite production declined 40%, slightly more than the fall in heavy mineral concentrate, due to lower ilmenite grades in the concentrate.

[paywall]

Kenmare now expects 2026 ilmenite production to be approximately in line with its 800,000-tonne guidance level, rather than exceeding it. Baxter said nearly all major construction and installation work on WCP A has been completed, with the plant now in operation. Kenmare had guided to $30 million of development capital expenditure this year, of which $23 million was spent in the first half, leaving $7 million expected in the second half.

The ramp-up has been held back by dredge performance issues, including repeated problems with swing winch brakes and premature wear in parts of the dredge. Baxter said Kenmare has agreed a permanent solution for the swing winch brake issue under design warranty with the manufacturer, while some pumping system components remain under investigation. Kenmare expects production to strengthen in the second half, supported by WCP B, the restart of dry mining, progressive improvements at WCP A and the planned start-up of a second selective mining operation in the fourth quarter.

A new product, ZrTi, materially lifted concentrates production. Hickey said ZrTi was previously a waste stream, but Kenmare has identified market interest in the material and expects it to remain part of sales in future years, though not at 2026 levels because the company is currently processing a historic stockpile. Baxter said concentrates production increased 770% year over year due to the conversion of that stockpile into saleable product.

He added that Kenmare has “clear routes to sale” for the material through the rest of 2026 and into 2027. In the Q&A session, Hickey said Kenmare’s planning assumption is for ZrTi volumes of roughly 30,000 to 40,000 tonnes per year going forward, although the company would prefer to recover more of its primary products — ilmenite, zircon and rutile — and produce less ZrTi over time.

[/paywall]