Speaking to Bloomberg TV from the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, President Macky Sall of Senegal said he’s eager to bring more mining investment into the country; in fact, mining will be one of the country’s “pillars of development.” Sall wants the resource industry to help Senegal’s economy to expand by an average rate of 7% for a decade. “We’re committed to putting all the conditions in place to attract companies, have an adequate working environment, a renewed mining code,” the President said as reported by Bloomberg.
Economic growth has hovered around the 4% mark for more than a decade, reaching 4.6% last year. “Growth of 5% is very good, but our ambition is much larger,” Sall said.
The President has experience, he’s a geologist by education, has worked in the petroleum industry and served several terms as the country’s Minister of Mines, Energy and Hydraulics.
Senegal, one of the most stable African countries according to the World Bank, is a major exporter of phosphate but is also looking to develop its iron ore, gold and oil industries. Currently the country has only one large-scale gold mine, the Sabodala deposit owned by Canada’s Teranga Gold. But Randgold Resources is in the feasibility stage of its Massawa project.
The government is currently looking for a partner to help develop the Faleme iron ore mine which has estimated reserves of about 750 Mt. ArcelorMittal left the project in 2007 because the European company suspended work due to the global economic crisis.
Teranga says Sabodala “is located in a region of Senegal that has only recently been opened for mining and exploration. The region is emerging as a significant new gold camp, with more than 10 Moz of resources already discovered. The Sabodala gold project is the only large-scale gold mine to come into operation in Senegal. Mining commenced in June 2008, commissioning of the plant occurred in early 2009, and the mine’s first gold was poured in March 2009.
“Mining of the Sabodala open pit is carried out by owner operated conventional truck and shovel open pit mining. The loading fleet is made up of two PC3000 hydraulic excavator, one PC2000 hydraulic excavator and two WA900 wheel loaders. The primary material mover is carried out with 19 HD785-7 Komatsu haul trucks. Manpower consists of approximately 130 operators, an increase from early 2012 as a result of the plant expansion. An additional PC-3000 and 5 HD785 haul trucks were ordered and delivered to site late in Q2-2013 for additional material movement capacity.
“The mine plan uses two cutoff grades for production assumptions. The higher cut-off grade is used to define material that can be treated economically in the plant at the time of production, whereas the material above the incremental cut-off grade will be mined and stockpiled and, depending on the economics of production at the time, will be treated at the end of the mine life.
“The mining schedule is driven by balancing the truck hours required to deliver ore to the ROM pad and waste to the dumps annually in concert with the loading capacity. Ore in excess of process plant requirements is selectively stockpiled throughout the life of the operation. Based on the mining schedule, the average cost of mining is $2.25/t for oxide/softer material and $2.65/t for fresh/harder material.
“The Sabodala pit has a final depth of 300 m at the end of the fourth mining phase, with final dimensions at the pit surface of 900 m by 1,100 m. The Gora pit is approximately 350 m wide by 1,000 m long, with a depth to 120 m from surface. The pit dimensions for the Niakafiri Pit at surface are 360 m by 460 m, with a final mined depth of 90 m.
Somigol owns 100% of the OJVG Golouma Gold Project subject to a 10% carried interest held by the government of Senegal. The Golouma Gold Project is being integrated into the Sabodala mine license. The OJVG Golouma is an advanced stage low risk, construction ready gold project located in Senegal. It is located in eastern Senegal, 600 km southeast of the capital city of Dakar. The 212 km² project is accessible year round by air and all weather roads, which provide excellent operational logistics.
