Gazprombank structures to engage in gold production in Chad, Mali
MOSCOW. May 3 (Interfax) - Gazprombank is interested in gold production in one of the most politically unstable regions in the world - Central and West Africa, particularly in Mali and Chad.
At the end of April, the companies GPB Chad Minerals Sarl and Mallian Russian Mining Company appeared on the list of the bank's affiliated entities. Both of these companies are subsidiaries of GPB Global Resources, which in turn is 100% owned by Gazprombank, the lender told Interfax.
"GPB Chad Minerals and Mallian Russian Mining Company were created to implement two major ore mining projects (gold production) in Chad and Mali," it said.
Gazprombank did not say who is heading these projects. On the same day that GPB Chad Minerals became an affiliated entity, Diop Cheikh Bekkai Blondin also became an affiliated individual. Leonid Kostyuk became an affiliated individual on the same day as Mallian Russian Mining.
GPB Global Resources is focused on Latin America, Africa and the Middle East. In Africa, the company is interested first and foremost in oil and gas projects, although it is also looking into mining assets. The company has a license to develop uranium fields in Nigeria.
Russian mining companies have never before operated in Chad or Mali.
Mali, one of the poorest countries in the world and in which 80% of the population is involved in agriculture, is the third largest gold producer in Africa and its fourth largest in terms of reserves (after South Africa, Ghana and Tanzania). Roughly 0.6% of the world's gold reserves are located in this country. Last year, Mali produced 43.5 million tonnes of gold, compared to 46 million tonnes in 2010 and 53.7 million tonnes in 2009.
The main gold deposits are located in two regions - the Falema belt on Mali's western border and the Bagoe ore and placer region in the south. These regions have considerable potential for new deposits. Mali is also home to placer gold deposits, which have only been lightly explored. Besides gold, Mali possesses reserves of iron ore, manganese, copper, lead, zinc, silver, tin, bauxite, lithium, uranium, diamonds and phosphates.
AngloGold Ashanti (40% in the Morila, Sadiola and Yatela mines) and Randgold Resources (40% of Morila, as well as the Loulo and Gounkoto mines) produce gold in Mali. The government owns between 20% and 24% of all mines. However, gold production in Mali is now under threat due to the coup that occurred at the end of March. According to local media, many foreign specialists are leaving the country for fear of their safety, and minor gold producers in Mali have ceased their activities due to disruptions in electricity. However, AngloGold and Randgold representatives are still saying that the situation presents no risks for their business.
In Chad, 80% of the population lives below the poverty line, with the country taking 196th place in terms of GDP per capita. Chad exports crude oil, cattle and cotton. In contrast with Mali, it has no industrial gold deposits. Data exist on the presence of insignificant reserves at the Pal placer in the south-west of the country.