2011 Africa – Investment Destination for Miners – Part V: West Africa

 THIS POST WAS ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED JANUARY 01, 2011

2011 Africa – Investment Destination for Miners – Part V: West Africa

One of the most interesting parts of the continent that emerged in the past year is West Africa. Yes, it takes quite a number of risks, the major one being a political, but the mining companies, including the world industry giants are taking it. This resource describes some of the issues The Pros and Cons of Mining in West Africa. At the same time, there is an acceptable mineral tax regime. Mining in Mali – a background note for the Swedish International Development cooperation Agency provides this comparison table:

There is a lot of talk about gold mining and quite a number of Australian companies are very active. This was quite a surprise for Australian analysts – as per their words – 15 years ago no one ever thought about this part of the world as a prime mining destination (this was expressed at the 2010 PlayDirt Gold Conference). The USGS notes that West Africa is the top reason in gold resource growth from 1997-2005. Three of the four top global gold producers have a big stake in the region; Newmont, AngloGold and Gold Fields. More analysis may be found in West African Gold Sector by Ambrian Capital plc . Southern Cross Equities in their Gold in Africa Report in detail discuss developments in gold mining in West Africa and list these companies:

The gold deposits of West Africa occur within Birimian rocks of the Man shield, which covers the southernmost third of the West African craton. Those interested in geology features may look at this paper that examines geology in detail: A decade of change—mineral exploration in West Africa, while one of the latest issues of the Australian Mining Review provides this good map:
West Africa Gold: ASX-listed gold company valuations by Foster Stockbroking makes a good valuation of these companies

It takes some time to develop a mining project. Mining investments are long term projects often spanning more than 10 years from the first conceptual studies based on preliminary exploration results to the final construction phase. This may take 18-24 months to complete. However, a very good example of gold mine development is described in this document Adamus Resources. On a direct path to gold production by McGuire Research