Mining industry of Chad

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Mining in Chad
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In the late 1980s, the only mineral exploited in

Kanem Prefecture,[1] and near the oasis of Faya-Largeau.[2]

Natron occurs naturally in two forms: white and black.

parastatal, by 1970 those efforts had failed because of resistance by traditional chiefs and traders who controlled production through a system of perpetual indebtedness.[1]

A number of other mineral deposits are known, but none had been commercially exploited by the mid-1980s.

Aozou Strip, as are tin and tungsten in other parts of the Tibesti Mountains, but exploration reports in 1971 for these three minerals did not indicate large or rich deposits.[1] As of 1987, conflicts in the region prevented further exploration.[1]

By far the potentially most important resource is

Exxon started exploration and in 1974 discovered minor oil deposits at Sédigi, near Rig Rig, to the north of Lake Chad.[1] Total reserves at Sédigi were estimated at 60 million tons, or roughly 438 million barrels (69,600,000 m3) of oil.[1] Exploration in 1985 by the Exxon-led consortium discovered potentially large deposits near Doba in the southern region of Chad.[1] Further efforts were suspended in 1986 when world oil prices continued to drop, although the consortium maintained a liaison office in N'Djamena in 1988.[1]

Plans existed in the late 1970s to exploit the deposits at Sédigi and to construct a small refinery at N'Djamena.[1] Those plans lapsed during the conflicts of the late 1970s and early 1980s but were revived in 1986 by the government with the support of the World Bank.[1] The reasons for proceeding with plans to exploit these deposits and build a refinery were clear.[1] The cost of importing petroleum products exceeded the cost of extracting and refining domestic crude, even when international oil prices were low.[1] The plans, which anticipated operations to begin in the early 1990s, included well development in the Sédigi field, a pipeline to N'Djamena, a refinery with a 2,000- to 5,000 barrels per day (790 m3/d) capacity, and the transformation or acquisition of power-generating equipment in the capital to burn the refinery's residual fuel oil.[1] The refinery's output would satisfy 80 percent of Chad's annual fuel needs, including all gasoline, diesel, butane, and kerosene; lubricants and jet fuel, however, would still have to be imported.[1]

References

  1. ^
    ISBN 0-16-024770-5. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.{{cite encyclopedia}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link
    )
  2. ^ Brachet & Scheele 2019, pp. 191–196.
  • Brachet, Julien; Scheele, Judith (2019). The Value of Disorder : Autonomy, Prosperity, and Plunder in the Chadian Sahara. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. .