Mining industry of Ivory Coast
This article needs to be updated.(November 2010) |
Although the subsoil of Ivory Coast contained many other minerals, none existed in commercially exploitable amounts, given the high costs of extraction. The mining sector contributes to 13% of exports (in 2022).[1]
During the precolonial era, gold was extracted from small shafts dug into the earth or from river and streambeds and was traded at the coast or across the
In the mid-1970s, low-grade deposits (less than 50 percent) of iron ore estimated at 585 million tons were assayed at Bangolo near the Liberian border. A consortium representing Japanese, French, British, American, Dutch, and Ivoirian interests was formed to exploit the deposits; however, depressed world prices for iron ore forced the participants to postpone the project indefinitely.[1]
Following World War II,
Between 1960 and 1966, manganese mines in the region of Grand-Lahou on the coast yielded 180,000 tons of ore per year. In 1970, after world market prices had dropped and production costs had risen, the mines were closed. There were additional unexploited manganese deposits near Odienné. Ivory Coast also had small deposits of colombo-tantalite, ilmenite, cobalt, copper, nickel, and bauxite.[1]
References
- ^ a b c d e >https://oec.world/en/profile/country/civ. Cote d'Ivoire country study. Library of Congress Federal Research Division (November 1988). This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- ISBN 9780045560011.