Ivory Coast Seeks Bigger Slice from Its Mining Revenues

Fuelled by foreign investment and large scale discovery of precious metals including diamond, gold, oil and gas, the Ivory Coast’s mining sector is booming and the government is seeking a bigger slice from the revenues for its own businesses.

According to a report from news agency AFP, these new discoveries including three new oil and gas field since 2021 have helped in boosting the economy of the West Africa nation, the biggest cocoa producer in the world. The gold production last year was four times higher than a decade earlier.

The country has vast deposits including iron, nickel, manganese, bauxite, copper and newly discovered reserves of coltan, a precious ore used to make electronic devices. On its part, Ivory Coast has offered attractive conditions to bring in foreign investors. Now, a revision of the mining code due in the coming weeks will target home-grown investment.

Ivory Coast’s Mining Minister Mamadou Sangafowa Coulibaly has urged experts drawing up the text to include measures to “ensure fairness in the distribution of the wealth, once the discovery has been made”.

In Ivory Coast over the last 10 years, discoveries of hydrocarbons and minerals have multiplied, production has grown and resources have diversified. The number of mining permits has roughly tripled to 29, while exploration permits have increased from 140 to 189. Gold production shot up from 13 to 51 tonnes between 2012 and 2023.

The mining sector now accounts for 4% of Ivory Coast’s gross domestic product, compared to just 1.5% a decade ago, according to the Professional Association of Miners of Ivory Coast (GPMCI).

Likewise, tax revenue from mining has ballooned to $400 million, a 20-fold increase over the same period. Total investment in Ivorian mines was estimated to be more than $79 billion last year.

Local First

Ivorian authorities already sought to “promote and develop” local companies under a 2022 law, which is only applied to oil and gas activities. Under the legislation, domestic firms should already get priority in public tenders and certain activities must be carried out only by them.

The 2022 law also encouraged oil and gas industry companies to recruit and employ Ivorian nationals as a matter of priority and train local workers.

Sangafowa Coulibaly also announced in May this year the creation of a digital platform dedicated to the local sector to ease administrative procedures including licence applications and renewals and provide access for hydrocarbons tenders.

In a related development, Canadian mining firm Barrick Gold is planning to divest its stake in the Tongon gold mine, which is located within the Nielle mining permit, 628 km north of the Côte d’lvoire port city of Abidjan, and 55 km south of the border with Mali.

The Tongon gold mine and associated mining permit is owned by Société des Mines de Tongon SA (Tongon), in which Barrick has an 89.7% interest, the State of Côte d’lvoire 10%, and 0.3% is held by Ivorian investors.