IVORY COAST: MINING, A KEY SECTOR IN TRANSITION


Five months of political crisis have brought the Ivorian mining sector to its knees. The majority of mining companies had cut back, or even suspended, their activity in the country during the last few months. Extraction and production have resumed since Laurent Gbagbo's arrest on 11 April and Alassane Ouattara took power. However, the new president and his team will still have to solve many problems if they are to bring life back into the sector, such as the review of contracts and permits signed under Laurent Gbagbo, and structuring the diamond and manganese sectors.

Alassane Ouattara's men

AFRICA MINING INTELLIGENCE n°249 - 27/04/2011
EXPLORATION & PRODUCTION
Ouattara to pick Danso as mine adviser
Since the arrest of Laurent Gbagbo on April 11, president-elect Alassane Ouatarra has been consolidating his powers and calling on the services of associates and advisers with whom he worked in the past. (...)  [226 words]   [€5]
AFRICA MINING INTELLIGENCE n°249 - 27/04/2011
STRATEGIES
Toungara on a business visit
Adama Toungara, the new mines and energy minister of Ivory Coast president Alassane Ouattara, spent several weeks in Paris before quitting the French capital on April 19. (...)  [91 words]   [€1,5]
AFRICA MINING INTELLIGENCE n°248 - 13/04/2011
STRATEGIES
The mining industry in post-Gbagbo days
When Ivory Coast's new president, Alassane Ouattara, finally comes to office, the mining operations that were suspended during the post-electoral crisis are likely to resume quickly. (...)  [115 words]   [€1,5]


The priority issues for the revival

AFRICA MINING INTELLIGENCE n°263 - 07/12/2011
EXPLORATION & PRODUCTION
Diamonds under the microscope
The Kimberley Process, which will come under the rotating chairmanship of the United States in 2012, intends to step up satellite surveillance of diamond mines in Ivory Coast. Experts from the Kimberley Process are to shortly approach Ivory Coast’s government to insist that it start strictly monitoring and tracking diamonds. (...)  [303 words]   [€8]
AFRICA MINING INTELLIGENCE n°261 - 09/11/2011
WHO'S WHO
Adama Toungara
Mining companies that hoped reforms in the sector would be completed before the beginning of the 2011-2012 exploration campaign are going to have to wait a little longer. (...)  [164 words]   [€5]
AFRICA MINING INTELLIGENCE n°260 - 26/10/2011
EXPLORATION & PRODUCTION
A battle for San Pedro minerals port
Several companies are mounting lobbying campaigns to win the project to build a minerals terminal in San Pedro at an estimated cost of over €30 million. (...)  [227 words]   [€5]
AFRICA MINING INTELLIGENCE n°260 - 26/10/2011
STRATEGIES
Drop in manganese exports
According to the latest figures from Abidjan port that Africa Mining Intelligence has seen, exports of manganese ore have fallen off shortly this year. (...)  [85 words]   [€1,5]
AFRICA MINING INTELLIGENCE n°255 - 27/07/2011
STRATEGIES
Call for Mano River panel to be re-activated
Ivory Coast president Alassane Ouattara has appealed to his counterparts Ellen Johnson Sirleaf in Liberia and Alpha Conde in Guinea to re-activate the Mano River mining committee (a sub-regional organization speaking for Ivory Coast, Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone). (...)  [174 words]   [€1,5]
AFRICA MINING INTELLIGENCE n°253 - 29/06/2011
EXPLORATION & PRODUCTION
Some mining deals to be revamped
While waiting for the Societe pour le Developpement Miniere de la Cote d’Ivoire (SODEMI) to complete an audit ordered by Ivory Coast’s new government, mines minister Adama Toungara has asked Adou M’Be, managing director of mines and geology, to take a close look at several licenses. (...)  [183 words]   [€5]
AFRICA MINING INTELLIGENCE n°251 - 01/06/2011
EXPLORATION & PRODUCTION
Soro told to crack down on illicit mining
The continuation of illicit diamond mining in the northern part of Ivory Coast worries the international community, and particularly the United States which suspects it of funding Al Qaida in Islamic Maghreb (AQIM). (...)  [258 words]   FREE
AFRICA MINING INTELLIGENCE n°250 - 18/05/2011
EXPLORATION & PRODUCTION
SODEMI’s plans for post Gbagbo era
The Societe de Developpement Minier en Cote d’Ivoire (SODEMI), which was badly mauled in Ivory Coast’s recent crisis, is intent on bouncing back with a fresh strategy. (...)  [256 words]   [€5]
AFRICA MINING INTELLIGENCE n°243 - 02/02/2011
EXPLORATION & PRODUCTION
Crisis pulls rug from under SODEMI
The political crisis gripping Ivory Coast is dashing the immediate hopes of Kouadio Kouame, managing director of Societe pour le Developpement Miniere en Cote d’Ivoire (SODEMI) of turning his company into a world-class mining group. (...)  [295 words]   [€5]
AFRICA MINING INTELLIGENCE n°241 - 05/01/2011
EXPLORATION & PRODUCTION
Suitors in battle for no 121 gold license
The Ivory Coast companies Mayana Sarl and Sansara Sarl are engaged in a no-holds-barred fight for the No. 121 SIS gold concession, known as “Mont Trou” to the south-west of Guiglo in the western part of the country. (...)  [319 words]   FREE
AFRICA MINING INTELLIGENCE n°239 - 01/12/2010
STRATEGIES
Re-Activating the Mano River Committee
Ivory Coast is about to re-activate the mines committee for countries bordering on the Mano river. (...)  [93 words]   [€1,5]
AFRICA MINING INTELLIGENCE n°236 - 20/10/2010
STRATEGIES
Abidjan Woos Areva
Marcel Gossio, the managing director of Abidjan’s port, is stepping up talks with Areva in the hope of getting it to export much of its uranium output from Niger through his minerals terminal. (...)  [131 words]   [€1,5]
AFRICA MINING INTELLIGENCE n°235 - 06/10/2010
EXPLORATION & PRODUCTION
Diamond Trade Set for Shake-Up after Elections
Ivory Coast’s government plans to overhaul the country’s diamond business. In recent days it has multiplied contacts with Israeli and Swiss gem purchasing companies with the shake-up in mind. (...)  [164 words]   [€5]
AFRICA MINING INTELLIGENCE n°235 - 06/10/2010
EXPLORATION & PRODUCTION
No Manganese Refining for the Moment
Ivory Coast is stepping forward on Africa’s manganese market but has failed for the moment to include a refining facility on the downstream so as to profit from added value. (...)  [309 words]   FREE
AFRICA MINING INTELLIGENCE n°231 - 21/07/2010
EXPLORATION & PRODUCTION
Talks on Funding San Pedro’s Minerals Terminal
Some progress appears to have been made in talks with the African Development Bank (ADB) on bankrolling a minerals terminal at the port of San Pedro, the second biggest in Ivory Coast. (...)  [169 words]   [€5]


How mining companies are managing the crisis

AFRICA MINING INTELLIGENCE n°261 - 09/11/2011
STRATEGIES
Taurian to resume work at Zemougoula
India's Taurian group plans to resume mining at Zemougoula in the Odienne region in north-west Ivory Coast. (...)  [93 words]   [€1,5]
AFRICA MINING INTELLIGENCE n°258 - 28/09/2011
EXPLORATION & PRODUCTION
Overhaul for Transland Resources
Transland Resources SA, a mining company that owns two reconnaissance and exploration licenses in central and central-West Ivory Coast, is going to be re-structured. (...)  [145 words]   [€5]
AFRICA MINING INTELLIGENCE n°256 - 31/08/2011
EXPLORATION & PRODUCTION
A rough patch in Ivory Coast for Taurian
The Indian multinational Taurian, also known under the name of Dharni Sampda Private Ltd (DPSDL) has run into a streak of bad luck in Ivory Coast. (...)  [237 words]   [€5]
AFRICA MINING INTELLIGENCE n°255 - 27/07/2011
EXPLORATION & PRODUCTION
Miners still exposed to FRCI saber-rattling
Despite repeated calls on them to stop by president Alassane Ouattara, the Forces Republicaines de Cote d’Ivoire (FRCI), a former rebel force of prime minister Guillaume Soro, is still holding mining companies in the country to ransom. (...)  [290 words]   [€5]
AFRICA MINING INTELLIGENCE n°255 - 27/07/2011
EXPLORATION & PRODUCTION
Taurian still target of MOREB movement
Operating near Bondoukou, the Indian mining giant Dharni Sampda Private Ltd (DSPL), formerly Taurian, still hasn’t managed to shake off long-standing threats from rebels of the Movement des Jeunes pour la Renaissance de Bondoukou (MOREB). (...)  [197 words]   [€5]
AFRICA MINING INTELLIGENCE n°253 - 29/06/2011
LOOKING AHEAD
Taurus Gold in higher gear in Ivory Coast
Very active in Burkina Faso and Mali, Taurus Gold Ltd has also stepped up exploration work at the Afema gold mine in Aboisso in the south-east of Ivory Coast near its border with Ghana. (...)  [86 words]   [€1,5]
AFRICA MINING INTELLIGENCE n°249 - 27/04/2011
EXPLORATION & PRODUCTION
SMI in dire need of new trucks
The Societe des Mines d’Ity (SMI), a subsidiary of Canada’s La Mancha Resources (itself a unit of Areva), isn’t expected to immediately re-open its gold mine on the far western corner of Ivory Coast. (...)  [174 words]   [€5]
AFRICA MINING INTELLIGENCE n°247 - 30/03/2011
LOOKING AHEAD
Low profile for Newcrest in Ivory Coast
Caution is the watchword at Newcrest Mining which works the Boniko gold mine in the centre-west part of Ivory Coast. (...)  [47 words]   [€1,5]
AFRICA MINING INTELLIGENCE n°246 - 16/03/2011
STRATEGIES
La Mancha undaunted by rebel advance
The recent fall of the town of Zouan Hounien to rebels from Forces Nouvelles loyal to Alassane Ouattara hasn’t particularly destabilised the Society des Mines d’Ity which is based there. (...)  [97 words]   [€1,5]
AFRICA MINING INTELLIGENCE n°245 - 02/03/2011
EXPLORATION & PRODUCTION
Pressure mounts on mining groups
Mining firms operating in Ivory Coast are feeling the full impact of a spike in tension in the crisis that has gripped the country since presidential elections in November. (...)  [213 words]   [€5]
AFRICA MINING INTELLIGENCE n°244 - 16/02/2011
EXPLORATION & PRODUCTION
Plunge in manganese output
Ivory Coast’s manganese production has plummeted in recent months. The country exported just 8,965 tons in December as opposed to 22,000 in November. (...)  [173 words]   [€5]
AFRICA MINING INTELLIGENCE n°243 - 02/02/2011
EXPLORATION & PRODUCTION
Ouatarra’s supporters stand in Taurian’s way
The Indian group Taurian Manganese and Ferro Alloy-CI S.A. (TRPL). which holds the concession to mine manganese ore at Bondoukou in eastern Ivory Coast, has fallen victim to the political struggle between the two men who both claim to be the country’s legitimate president, Alassane Ouattara and Laurent Gbagbo. (...)  [217 words]   [€5]
AFRICA MINING INTELLIGENCE n°240 - 15/12/2010
EXPLORATION & PRODUCTION
Fingernail-Biting Time for Randgold Resources
Accustomed to working in risky environments, Randgold Resources is monitoring the situation from hour to hour after the Nov. 28 runoff in the presidential elections led to both contenders claiming victory. (...)  [226 words]   [€5]
AFRICA MINING INTELLIGENCE n°240 - 15/12/2010
EXPLORATION & PRODUCTION
Cluff Gold Pulls in its Horns
Africa Mining Intelligence understands the British mining company Cluff Gold, which works two gold mines at Angovia in the center of the country, not far from Yamoussoukro, is currently evacuating staff from Ivory Coast. (...)  [122 words]   [€5]



Ivory Coast | Alassane Ouattara | Laurent Gbagbo | mines | mining | SODEMI
Ibrahima Danso | Adama Toungara | La Mancha Resources | Taurian | Cluff Gold | diamond | manganese


top of the page |  Last edition  |  French Edition  |  My account  |  Subscribe  |  Terms and conditions  |  FAQ  |  Contacts  |  Legal Notices  | top of the page

Africa Intelligence | West Africa Newsletter | The Indian Ocean Newsletter | Maghreb Confidential |
Africa Energy Intelligence | Africa Mining Intelligence | Top African Leaders |
Africa Business Intelligence | African Government & Political News | Intelligence Online