Cte d’Ivoire joins major African gold producers

Cte d’Ivoire joins major African gold producers

#Ivory Coast : Cte d’Ivoire has seen a rapid increase in its gold production in recent years. At this rate, the country should very soon be among the top 5 of the first producers of the yellow metal at the African level.

An agricultural country, Cte d’Ivoire continues its quest for economic diversification to better strengthen its economy, which is largely dependent on agricultural products, especially cocoa and cashews, of which the country is the world’s largest. is the major producer. For this, apart from the promising hydrocarbon sector, the country is also dependent on its high potential but under-exploited mining sector.

And to lay the foundation for this diversification, the country has started a few years back with generally very satisfactory results in gold production, marked by a steady increase in the production of the yellow metal in recent years. Thus, the production increased from 24.4 tonnes in 2018 to 32.5 tonnes in 2019, 38.9 tonnes in 2020, 41.80 tonnes in 2021.

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Thus, for the 2021 fiscal year, with this gold production of 41.80 tonnes, Cte d’Ivoire is now one of the largest gold producers on the continent.

In 2019, the gold production of Ghana, Sudan, Mali and Burkina Faso stood at 147 tonnes, 79 tonnes, 73 tonnes and 64 tonnes, respectively.

And the possibilities are exciting. Officials are counting on a production of 65 tonnes by 2025. This objective is achievable, considering the growth rate recorded in the recent years. First, because this gold is produced in 9 mines and 2 others are under construction. Gold production will increase only because of the scope effect.

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Again, Cte d’Ivoire lies at the center of the “Burmian Greenstone Belt”, a belt of sedimentary volcanic rocks rich in gold ores that extends from Senegal to Ghana, passing through Cte d’Ivoire, the country’s gold potential remains significant. Is . Finally, the Ivorian government revised its mining code in 2014 to make it more attractive to foreign investors by reforming the legislative and regulatory framework, but also by improving the tax and customs framework.

These improvements made it possible to attract international mining groups. Note that Ivorian gold is mined by Canadian (Barrick Gold & Endeavor Mining and Afrika Gold) and Australian (Perseus Mining) multinationals.

If Cte d’Ivoire manages to reach the target of 65 tonnes in 2025, the share of the mining sector, which is mainly dominated by manganese and gold production, could reach 6% of the country’s GDP, which Currently it is 3%.

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