Senegal is busy working to attract more foreign investors to unleash the full steam of its untapped mining resources. This African country, which is one of the major phosphate exporters in the continent, is currently looking forward to developing its iron ore, gold and oil industries.
Senegal, one of the stable African countries, has only one large-scale gold mine, the Sabodala deposit owned by Canada’s Teranga Gold. Some industry experts say the country needs more foreign investment for the development of the Faleme iron ore mine which has estimated reserves of about 750 million tonnes.
According to Maplecroft – a global risk analytics firm, Senegal is one of the African countries which have improved the business environment over the past five years.
The Senegalese territory offers investors great varieties of minerals including gold and platinum, iron, uranium, base metals, industrial minerals, heavy minerals, decorative stones and building materials, etc.
The mining in Senegal was limited to the exploitation of phosphates, industrial limestone and attapulgite, but things have started to change lately with the arrival of foreign companies and the emergence of phosphates as one of the pillars of the country’s economy.
