LSE- and ISE-listed titanium minerals and zircon producer Kenmare Resources has successfully completed a major upgrade of its Wet Concentrator Plant (WCP) A at the Moma titanium minerals mine in northern Mozambique, with commissioning now under way.

The upgraded plant is equipped to mine the Nataka orezone, Moma’s largest resource, securing the mine’s production for decades.

Commissioning of the WCP A began on October 2 and production is expected to ramp up through the fourth quarter as the new equipment reaches design capacity.

“The two new dredges and the new feed preparation unit have been successfully connected to WCP A and the commissioning process [has] commenced. The commissioning and production process is expected to ramp up through quarter four, as the new equipment and process changes are progressively brought to design capacity,” Kenmare COO Ben Baxter said on October 8.

The upgrade work was completed on schedule. This included a planned production pause of three to four weeks, which was accounted for in Kenmare’s 2025 production guidance.

“This upgrade work required detailed engineering and project management, with substantial prior planning, and it was completed while maintaining exceptional safety performance.

“We look forward to WCP A being fully ramped up to its increased capacity by year-end, with WCP A now fully equipped to successfully mine in the large Nataka ore zone, which is the key to Moma’s future production,” Baxter added.

The WCP A upgrade is designed to handle the unique conditions of the Nataka ore zone, which contains higher levels of fine, clay-like particles, or slimes. The upgrade includes two new high-capacity dredges and a new feed preparation module with an upfront desliming circuit, aimed at maintaining consistent heavy mineral concentrate production.

Kenmare’s capital expenditure for the WCP A upgrade and the transition to Nataka, including a new tailings storage facility and infrastructure, remains at $341-million.

The plant is expected to reach its full operating capacity of 3 500 t an hour by the end of the year.

WCP A will complete mining in the current Namalope zone in the second quarter of 2026 and will begin transitioning to Nataka from late in the second quarter of 2026, a process expected to take about 18 months.

Kenmare plans to release its quarter three production update on October 15, providing further details on the plant’s ramp-up and overall output.