Industry & Mining
From The Report: Gabon 2012
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Industrial activity in Gabon is still at an early stage, with the limited size of the local market and high costs of industrial activities posing major challenges to the development of the sector – indeed, industry accounted for just 7.7% of GDP in 2011. However, major strides have been made in recent years to promote investment and development in industry, including the Industrial Gabon programme, which aims to promote the local processing of raw materials into high-value-added exports. New special economic zones and public-private partnerships, as well as projects to increase palm oil, rubber and fertiliser production, are expected to contribute to the growth of the sector. The government is also eager to increase mining’s contribution to GDP. With production of manganese having reached record levels in 2011, accounting for 14% of global exports, and a number of investors expressing interest in the sector, mining revenues are expected to increase.

This chapter contains interviews with Régis Immongault Tatagani, Minister of Industry and Mining; and Fabrice Nze-Bekale, CEO, Société Equatoriale des Mines.

Articles from this Chapter

Overview

Assembling the line: Government policy supports the expansion of value-added processing
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Apart from downstream commodity processing, industrial activity in Gabon is still at an early stage. The limited size of the local market and the high costs incurred by industrial activities have been historical obstacles to the industrial development of Gabon. Although the share of the industrial activity – excluding oil and mining – slipped to 7.7% of GDP in 2011, down from 8.2% in 2010, several manufacturing sectors registered a significant growth, a result of the governmental industrialisation…

Overview

GOING TO SEED:
OBG
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In 2011, total global exports of nitrogenous fertilisers reached a record value of $25.7bn, having grown by 60.6% in value between 2009 and 2011. The main exporter is Russia, which exported 11m tonnes of fertilisers in 2011. Urea is the most commonly used nitrogenous fertiliser, and in a context of a growing international demand for fertilisers, the development of a nitrogen-based fertiliser plant in the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) of Port-Gentil by the Gabon Fertiliser Company (GFC), will significantly increase Gabon’s industrial capacity and value of exports. The plant will produce granulated urea to be exported in Africa and elsewhere.…

Overview

Fission for minerals: Unlocking the nation’s geological potential
OBG
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Although Gabon possesses important mineral resources in its soil, the share of the mining sector in the GDP only amounted to 4.6% in 2011, compared to 4.5% in 2010. The government is anxious to increase this share, promoting the local processing of existing productions and attracting new mining firms to the country. It has also indicated a desire to play a direct role in the development of the sector, through public-private partnerships and, possibly, mandatory participation in projects involving…

Interview

OBG talks to Fabrice Nze-Bekale, CEO, Société Equatoriale des Mines
OBG
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Interview: Fabrice Nze-Bekale In your opinion, what steps can be taken to increase processing capacity for manganese? FABRICE NZE-BEKALE: Manganese processing has already begun. France’s COMILOG is building a processing plant for ferro-manganese at the Moanda Metallurgical Complex, where second-stage manganese processing will be carried out. This will be COMILOG’s second factory, and follows the Moanda Industrial Complex, which it built several years ago. Additionally, India’s Abhijeet is…