Inhabitants of Barafoute village, in Kedougou, Senegal, digging 15 metres deep in search of gold. © RFI/Tom Chaurand
Speaking at this year’s Mining on Top Africa (Mota) conference, Birame Souleye Diop, Senegal’s minister of energy and mines, said his government intends to review the contracts of mining companies that do not fulfil their environmental obligations.
“A few days ago, I visited Kedougou,” Diop said, referring to the region that houses most of Senegal’s industrial and artisanal gold mines.
Located 700 km east of the capital, Dakar, and close to the Malian border, it is one of the country’s poorest regions. It is also subject to widespread contamination.
“The water of Falame river is totally polluted, animals are dying, children are dying, forests have been decimated,” Diop said.
“This because of poisoning by cyanide and mercury used for gold mining. This is not fair.”
Beyond European investment
The environmental degradation in Kedougou has been documented for years now. According to the Institute for Security Studies, 3.9 tonnes of mercury is used in the region every year, creating health risks for miners and residents alike.
Immediately after taking office in April, President Faye ordered an audit of Senegal’s oil, gas and mining sectors.
“Our partners in the extractive industries are obliged to respect all the clauses of the contracts and we, as a state, have the responsibility to intervene and restore public order,” Diop told the mining companies, government leaders and experts attending the Mota conference on 3 and 4 July.
The annual meeting aims to foster partnerships between Europe and Africa.
But the Senegalese minister told the delegates in Paris that he did not intend to limit the search for potential investors to Europe only.
“We need to find what’s best for us. And, if it is in my country’s interest to partner with Saudi Arabia, I’ll go there,” he said.
Local communities must also be able to benefit from the exploitation of their land, Diop insisted, saying that a percentage of profits should be poured back into projects to benefit residents.
“It is not enough just to give jobs to the local population. We need to focus where the need is. There is no use for a mining company to build a hospital when it’s schools which are needed,” said Diop.
He added that, in the past, Senegal would simply accept what the companies investing in the country were willing to give to the local population. This is no longer the case, he said.
Diop also insisted that foreign companies should share technology with Senegal rather than simply extracting its primary materials.
“They take our resources, they transform them and they sell them back to us,” he told RFI.
Keeping mineral wealth in Africa
Senegal began producing oil for the first time in June, with eventual capacity estimated at more than 200,000 barrels per day.
The country is also rich in minerals such as phosphate, iron ore, zircon and gold.
Diop claims that French investors involved in exploration have a clearer picture of Senegal’s mineral reserves than the government does.
“They have the data, but they haven’t shared it with me. What kind of generosity are we talking about? Transformation also means knowing what’s in your subsoil,” he said.
African states set up the African Minerals Development Centre in 2016 to help them better reap the benefits of their mineral resources. But only a handful of countries so far have ratified its founding statute, meaning the centre hasn’t been put into full operation.
“Before being convinced that we need Europe, I think we should at least start by talking among ourselves, Africans, first,” Diop said.