‘Main Mining Activity’ Extracts from Country Profiles 1. Republic of Angola: oil (could be contributing around 75% of GDP now), diamonds (both alluvial (diamonds found in river systems) and kimberlite (diamonds found directly from the rock, i.e. the volcanic rock)) 2. Republic of Benin: Petroleum was discovered off the coast however this appears not to have been developed to a productive level. Oil was being produced and exported in Benin, however as Benin does not have an oil refinery, the country imports its oil-energy products. Gold is being mined in parts of Benin. This is more artisanal miners mining alluvial gold. Other things being mined are cement. Mining within the economy of Benin does not form a significant portion of the GDP, however there is potential for junior miners with gold, iron ore and phosphates. 3. Republic of Botswana: Diamonds, Diamonds and more Diamonds. Globally, Botswana plays a pivotal role in the Diamond trade, producing the highest values of diamonds in the world. Since 2007, prospecting has also been driven for other minerals like uranium, gold and copper. Botswana has possibly the biggest opportunity, with foreseen reduction in diamond supply, being coal. The vast area covering the country has significant coal reserves which are still to be properly studied and then mined 4. Republic of Burundi: Known minerals in Burundi are amongst others chromium, platinum group metals, gold, tungsten and nickel. Per studies done, Burundi is believed to have 6% of the world’s nickel reserves. Potential in oil mining exists, which will be a boost for Burundi’s energy needs. The potential is sighted as existing along the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo 5. Burkina Faso: Mining in Burkina Faso is really in its ‘infancy’ state in terms of commercial mining. There are opportunities with mining manganese, copper, bauxite, antimony, phosphates, gold, lead. On the continent, Burkina Faso is the 4th biggest gold producer 6. Union of the Comoros: Mining in the Comoros is really minute with clay, sand and gravel, crushed stone being the key mining activities. All these are for the supply of the local demand 7. Republic of Cape Verde: There is no significant mining activity in Cape Verde other than salt as a lot of its mineral resources have not been explored 8. Democratic Republic of Congo: Diamonds, copper, coltan, cobalt, gold, etc. Globally the DRC is regarded as the wealthiest country based on its mineral resources. The mining activity is a mixture of professional large companies, artisanal mining and also small scale mining. The DRC is considered to have 30% of the Diamond resources. Now there is a resource I need to explain – Coltan (DRC is estimated to have 70% of the total global resources of this mineral). Coltan is short for Columbite-Tantalite, a mineral used in electronic products, in producing tantalum capacitors (those with IT minds and those of us with minimal IT knowledge will know of those things that stick out of circuit boards, some of those are called capacitors). So the DRC has really important resources. Do note that I can’t delve into the extent of resources that the DRC has, but it is phenomenal 9. Kingdom of Lesotho: As I mentioned, diamonds mining is the main mining activity in Lesotho. Lesotho is driving mining exploration of the following minerals to complement its diamond industry: rare earth, platinum, platinum, tungsten, tantalum, amongst others. Back to diamond mining: there has been significant investment into diamond mining in this current year alone 10. Republic of Côte dIvoire: The mineral resources of Côte dIvoire have not had extensive exploratory activity to determine their potential in recent years (other than oil and gas per the outlook). The mining operations have been greatly based on historical data and mining activity. What is known is that there are the following resources: diamonds, gold, bauxite, manganese, cobalt, amongst others. So what is necessary is for Research and Development (R&D). R&D is of critical need for developing the mining industry. Many ‘oil’ wells off the Gulf of Guinea are exploratory, but the potential is significant 11. Republic of Djibouti: There are very little natural resources in Djibouti that can be mined. Salt is the greatest mineral that is currently being mined. Coupled with this are extensive desalination projects to support the water need of the country 12. Republic of Malawi : The mineral resources of Malawi are minimal or too costly to mine. The mining that takes place is by small-scale miners. Resources like limestone for cement, semi-precious stones, etc, are mined on that small-scale. There is exploration on mineral sands and other base metals, the extent of which is still to be determined 13. Republic of The Gambia: Mining in The Gambia plays an insignificant role in the economy. The main activities are clay with prospects of mineral sands and oil mining 14. Arab Republic of Egypt: Egypt has been well endowed with minerals, with tantaline, coal and gold being the main minerals. There are indications of zinc, lead and copper from recent explorations. However minerals such as iron ore, phosphates, granite have also long been mined in Egypt for centuries 15. Republic of Mauritius: Mauritius has no mining potential other than basalt in small quantities, sand, stone, gravel and salt 16. Republic of Ghana: Ghana is a leader in industrial minerals globally, with vast reserves in gold, diamonds, manganese, etc. Ghana is the 10th global producer of gold and 2nd on the continent. Surely being formerly known as the Gold Coast, is a highlight of Ghana positioning in playing a key role in gold production globally. So critical is gold that Ashanti Goldfields Corporation, headquartered in Ghana, after merging with Anglogold became the 2nd biggest gold miner in the world. There is real potential in manganese with GMC being the only manganese large scale manganese miner in Ghana (per GMC’s profile). Another mineral is diamonds: diamonds are mainly mined by small-scale miners, with great potential in exploratory work, to determine the mining potential Sources: Summary: Minergy Country Profiles (Angola (Country Profile 1) to Ghana (Country Profile 16)) Picture: varnaproducts.blogspot/2014/03/varna-featured-in-african-mining-brief.html
Posted on: Sat, 17 May 2014 08:39:05 +0000
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