Modern Mining September 2021

REGIONAL FOCUS – WEST AFRICA

Outstanding drilling results showcase West Africa is going through a sustained period of elevated exploration activity precisely at a time when the mining sector is entering the current metals supercycle. Recent excellent exploration results from some of the companies operating in the region demonstrate why the region has been one of the fastest growing gold mining jurisdictions in the world, writes Munesu Shoko .

W hile South Africa remains the biggest gold producing country on the continent, West Africa has over the years become the new gold frontier in Africa. Long recognised for its geological potential, West Africa continues to edge into centre focus from the peripheral vision of many investors. Within the region, investment dynamics continue to shift, with many rising stars gaining momentum alongside the more established mining countries. West Africa continues to be one of the fastest growing regions for gold production in the world. There are few regions with this much activity. The region produces half of the continent’s gold and is closing in on North America production levels. The remarkable progress over the past 25 years is due to the mining-friendly governments and prospective, underexplored geology in the region. There have been about a dozen projects built over the past five years and, with one exception, they are coming in on time and on budget. They are bitesize but profitable.

In its recent “Exploration Boom” report, Capital Limited – one of the largest mining services provid- ers in Africa with a 17-year track record of delivering drilling services, and more recently contract mining and laboratory assay analysis services to global, mid-tier and junior mining companies – provides an analysis into why West Africa is going through a sustained period of elevated exploration activ- ity, precisely at the time when the mining sector is entering what leading market commentators such as JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs refer to as the current metals’ supercycle. The West African region has been one of the fastest growing mining jurisdictions in the world, par- ticularly for large proven gold deposits that stretch from Senegal in the west to Nigeria in the east, and from Mali in the north to Ghana in the south. While each country has its own policies and operating envi- ronment, the common vein among many attractive mining investment destinations in West Africa is their shared position along the Birimian Greenstone Belt.

Resolute’s Syama Gold Mine.

24  MODERN MINING  September 2021