The mining industry of Senegal is mainly centred on the production of
phosphate
In chemistry, a phosphate is an anion, salt, functional group or ester derived from a phosphoric acid. It most commonly means orthophosphate, a derivative of orthophosphoric acid .
The phosphate or orthophosphate ion is derived from phospho ...
s and industrial
limestone
Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...
.
Senegal
Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤠(Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤠ðž ...
is one of the leading producers of phosphates in the world, accounting for about 6% of exports in 2006, and deposits are of a particularly high quality. In the coastal region of the country,
titanium
Titanium is a chemical element with the symbol Ti and atomic number 22. Found in nature only as an oxide, it can be reduced to produce a lustrous transition metal with a silver color, low density, and high strength, resistant to corrosion in ...
-bearing minerals have been found and the reserve is estimated at 10 million tons.
The mineral sector's exports accounts for 20% of total exports of the country and constitutes 20% of the GDP.
Senegal's relatively poor natural resources may have contributed to a long period of political stability (2012). The mining in Senegal is relatively poor. Senegal has not had a rich mining industry or a disruptive government.
Gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...
has been found in the east of the country and it is hoped that this can be exploited to benefit a continuing stable country.
[Senegal's Golden Ticket: The Secret To Stability Amid Strife In West Africa]
Jacey Fortin, International Business Times, 2012, Retrieved 25 August 2015
History
Artisanal mining
An artisanal miner or small-scale miner (ASM) is a subsistence miner who is not officially employed by a mining company, but works independently, mining minerals using their own resources, usually by hand.
Small-scale mining includes enterprises ...
has been practiced traditionally in the country from ancient times, particularly in the southeastern region. During a
gold rush
A gold rush or gold fever is a discovery of gold—sometimes accompanied by other precious metals and rare-earth minerals—that brings an onrush of miners seeking their fortune. Major gold rushes took place in the 19th century in Australia, New Z ...
period in the 1970s, the land was seriously degraded and people were impoverished.
The phosphate industry began to be exploited in the 1940s and 1950s, when two large phosphate mines at
Taiba
Taiba (foaled April 13, 2019) is an American Thoroughbred racehorse who has won multiple Grade I events as a three-year-old in 2022 including the Santa Anita Derby and Malibu Stakes at Santa Anita Park and Pennsylvania Derby at Parx Racing.
Bac ...
and
Lam-Lam in the
Thies Region Thies may refer to
* Thiès, a city in Senegal
**Université de Thiès in Senegal
**Olympique Thiès, a Senegalese football club
**Roman Catholic Diocese of Thiès
**Thiès Department
*Thiès Region in western Senegal
*Thies (name)
See also
*Thier ...
began operations.
Less authorised mining in the country is the illegal removal of sand.
The sand is obtained close to the country's coast by builders.
Since the discovery of large deposits of gold in the eastern Senegal village of
Diabougou in 2006, that village hosts the largest "informal" gold mining operation in the country.
This mining has seen the village grow from hundreds to thousands. The miners are attracted by the relative ease of extracting gold.
The villagers suffer health problems because they are drinking the same water that is used in the gold extraction process. The miners are buying and using the poisonous element mercury.
The country's reserves as of 2015 are relatively underdeveloped, and in 2014 it was announced that the Senegalese government was looking to attract foreign investors and use mining as a way to facilitate national economic growth by some 7%.
Production and impact
![PhosphateSenegal](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fa/PhosphateSenegal.jpg)
Additional mining sectors have included
platinum
Platinum is a chemical element with the symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a dense, malleable, ductile, highly unreactive, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name originates from Spanish , a diminutive of "silver".
Platinu ...
,
iron
Iron () is a chemical element with symbol Fe (from la, ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, right in f ...
,
uranium
Uranium is a chemical element with the symbol U and atomic number 92. It is a silvery-grey metal in the actinide series of the periodic table. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons. Uranium is weak ...
, and base metals.
Gold mining involves many illegal immigrants and it has been assessed as a "risky business". The small, formal
Sabodala mine is operated by Canadian firm
Teranga Gold in the south east of the country.
With an estimated 750 million metric tonnes of
iron ore
Iron ores are rocks and minerals from which metallic iron can be economically extracted. The ores are usually rich in iron oxides and vary in color from dark grey, bright yellow, or deep purple to rusty red. The iron is usually found in the fo ...
reserves, iron mining has taken off in the country since Luxembourg firm
ArcelorMittal
ArcelorMittal S.A. is a Luxembourgian multinational steel manufacturing corporation headquartered in Luxembourg City. It was formed in 2006 from the takeover and merger of Arcelor by Indian-owned Mittal Steel. ArcelorMittal is the second larg ...
made an agreement with the Senegalese government in 2007 to operate the
Falémé mine in the southeast of the country. It began operations in 2011, and it has been assessed that southeastern Senegal could potentially produce 12 million tons per year for 20 years.
It has been argued that Senegal's relatively poor natural resources have contributed to the country's long period of stability compared to other nearby countries.
[ Unlike Sierra Leone, Zimbabwe, or Liberia there is no significant mining of diamonds or Gold. Rich natural resources can be used by exploitative governments to fund dictatorships. Senegal has not had a rich mining industry or a disruptive government and these facts may be related. Gold has been found in the east of the country and it is hoped that this can be exploited to benefit the country and not the government. Disorganised mining in boom towns like Diabougou is creating health problems caused by mercury poisoning and sexually transmitted diseases.][
]
Legal framework
The mining legislation drafted on modern practices is an effective code that aims for an overhaul of the mining sector and is meant to encourage private sector participation in exploration and production of several minerals in the country. The "Mineral Policy and Legislation" in the country are framed as rules and regulations which define benefits for participation in the mining sector. Benefits proposed under the Mining Permit system and Mining Concessions, and in the Investment Code, can be drawn upon by the private sector companies participating in the mining operations, depending on the investments made.[
]
Commodities
Gold mining in the Sabodala gold district, in the northeast region, to the east of Dakar
Dakar ( ; ; wo, Ndakaaru) (from daqaar ''tamarind''), is the capital and largest city of Senegal. The city of Dakar proper has a population of 1,030,594, whereas the population of the Dakar metropolitan area is estimated at 3.94 million in 2 ...
, is under expansion to increase production to 4 metric tons per year. Iron ore extraction at the Faleme iron ore project, in the southeastern region of the country, which has reserves of 50 million tons, was proposed to be implemented as a joint sector project. Titanium and zircon
Zircon () is a mineral belonging to the group of nesosilicates and is a source of the metal zirconium. Its chemical name is zirconium(IV) silicate, and its corresponding chemical formula is Zr SiO4. An empirical formula showing some of the r ...
extraction under the Grande Côte mineral sands project was expected to begin production from 2013; the production estimates were projected as: ilmenite
Ilmenite is a titanium-iron oxide mineral with the idealized formula . It is a weakly magnetic black or steel-gray solid. Ilmenite is the most important ore of titanium and the main source of titanium dioxide, which is used in paints, printing ...
575,000 tons per year, zircon
Zircon () is a mineral belonging to the group of nesosilicates and is a source of the metal zirconium. Its chemical name is zirconium(IV) silicate, and its corresponding chemical formula is Zr SiO4. An empirical formula showing some of the r ...
80,000 tons per year, leucoxene Leucoxene is a fine granular alteration product of titanium minerals. It varies in color from yellow to brown.
It consists mainly of rutile or anatase. It is observed in some igneous rocks and iron ore deposits as the result of the alteration of il ...
11,000 tons per year, and rutile
Rutile is an oxide mineral composed of titanium dioxide (TiO2), the most common natural form of TiO2. Rarer Polymorphism (materials science), polymorphs of TiO2 are known, including anatase, akaogiite, and brookite.
Rutile has one of the highest ...
6,000 tons per year. Petroleum and natural gas have also been produced in the country.
References
External links
*
{{Economy of Senegal
Senegal
Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤠(Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤠ðž ...
Economy of Senegal
Senegal
Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤠(Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤠ðž ...