2023-12-11 23:12:01
It is one of the key metals of the energy transition: manganese, used in electric car batteries in particular. Gabon is the second largest producer in the world, behind South Africa, and has doubled its production over the past four years. The French company Eramet, which operates the world’s largest manganese mine there in collaboration with the Gabonese state, announced on November 12 that it plans to extract 20% more metal by 2026.
Seen from the sky, the Moanda mine, the largest manganese mine in the world, looks like a black expanse in the middle of the greenery. The site is operated by a subsidiary of Eramet, Comilog, of which the Gabonese State is also a shareholder. Production from this mine has almost doubled in four years and will further increase by around 20% by 2026, to reach eight and a half million tonnes per year.
To do this, it was necessary to expand the mine, but above all to invest in the Transgabonais, the country’s only train line. We also manage the train which transports ore from the mine, which is located near the Congo border, to the sea. It also transports passengers and freight. We have invested a lot and more than doubled its capacity over the last four years. But we must continue to invest significantly », Explains Christel Bories, the boss of Eramet.
The company did not, however, reveal the precise amount of work undertaken or to come: “ This is a route that was not made to transport ore before. Today it carries ours and that of our competitors. We have investments that are still significant over the coming years, we are talking regarding several hundred million euros ».
Mining activity represents 30% of Gabon’s exports
If Gabon produces more manganese, it is not only because of the rise of electric cars, explains Aloys d’Harambure, executive director of the International Manganese Institute: “ This increase in production in Gabon is partly linked to the increase in global demand for manganese, particularly for electric car batteries. But it is also because in a period when energy is expensive all over the world, there is an advantage for users of manganese ore to have ore with a high manganese content. Because this helps reduce electricity consumption. But when we produce manganese alloys, electricity is the first cost ».
High-grade manganese, highly sought following to make stronger steel, is precisely what we find in Gabon. Mining activity today represents nearly 30% of Gabonese exports, behind oil.
After the coup d’état this August once morest Ali Bongo, a local NGO that we contacted is calling for redefining the distribution of mineral wealth so that it benefits residents more. Its director hopes for progress on this point during the national dialogue promised by the president of the transition, Brice Oligui Nguema, from next April.
Read alsoExtractive industry: ten years later, Gabon returns to the EITI
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