Modern Mining September 2020

REGIONAL FOCUS: WEST AFRICA

West Africa: the new frontier for West Africa is said to be one of the world’s fastest-growing regions in terms of gold production and is currently the source of around half the gold produced in Africa, with approximately a dozen new projects built in the last few years. In this feature, we examine why this region is so attractive to gold producers and prospectors alike. By Mark Botha

I n 2011, West Africa became the hub of African gold mining when the region’s total production of gold overtook that of South Africa. While gold mine pro- duction has been declining throughout the world, West African gold production has been growing, according to research and consultancy group Wood Mackenzie. Yves Koudou, audit manager at BDO Franco­ phone West Africa, ascribes this in part to the region’s significant mining resources, especially in terms of gold. He says these resources are still under-explored, which provides a catalyst for strong interest from the international mining community. The West African region is a mineral-rich area due to the Birimian volcano-sedimentary formation of gold deposit extending from Côte d’Ivoire to Ghana, Mali, Guinea, Liberia and Burkina Faso, he says. “Gold production numbers showed that South Africa was still the biggest gold producing country in Africa in 2017, but West Africa’s gold mining industry, led by Ghana, Mali and Burkina Faso, already pro- duces nearly twice as much gold as South Africa.” BDO South Africa’s audit associate director Jill MacRae says gold mining in West Africa however is

not a recent occurrence: “The region has a long his- tory of gold mining – Ghana was even known as the Gold Coast under British colonial rule.” She says that, given the immense size of the region and the political turmoil over the decades, many of the region’s resources have remained largely unexplored. “We have seen many gold mines opening up in the region in the past few years. West African coun- tries are developing and their governments want to attract foreign investment, especially into the min- ing industry, as developing countries are unlikely to

Centre: Perseus Mining’s Sissingué operation in Côte d’Ivoire.

Below: Cora Gold’s Sanankoro Gold Project in Southern Mali has a maiden resource and a scoping study showing a 107% IRR at US$1 500 gold price.

28  MODERN MINING  September 2020