APA-Bamako (Mali) Mali began to diversify its mining output with the stated ambition to break the dominance of the gold that has been one of its main sources of growth over the last fifty years.
This is certainly not the beginning of the post-gold period, but people are talking more and more about iron ore in the country with the Moribabougou deposit, at the eastern entrance of Bamako, where a development permit has been given to the Indian group Sandeep Gard and Company.
The site contains 91 million tons of iron ore whose early work should begin operating in September with a view to creating 1,636 jobs and nearly CFA 30 billion incomes for Malians in 10 years.
Sahara Mining SA will manage the site, a subsidiary percent "Sandeep Gard and Company" (SGNCO) by 80%, the remaining 20% capital is for the Malian state.
Moreover, the country plans to join in 2012 the circle of uranium-producing countries after the award to a Canadian company “Rockgate Capital Corporation” a license to operate the Falea deposit, a rural town in Kayes region (west).
Work is underway in parallel for the start in 2016 of the mining operations of 420 million tonnes of bauxite ore by the British firm CAMEC (Central African Mining and Exploration Co) in the same Falea area.
However, gold should retain its dominant position in the domestic economy, thanks to the Syama Mine (west), which resumed operations on 6 May, with the hope of contributing 6 to 7 tonnes of the 50 tonnes of gold produced annually.
This desire to diversify mining products in Mali is the result of the increasing prospects of energy availability and the rise in commodity prices, considering future depletion of major gold mines. more
