(Ecofin Agency) – Ivory Coast is a major gold producer. Also a producer of manganese, the country has other riches such as copper, cobalt and nickel. For these critical metals, exploration efforts have intensified in recent years in response to growing demand.
In Côte d’Ivoire, the government has granted several research permits for different critical metals, including cobalt and lithium. This is one of the decisions taken at the Council of Ministers on Wednesday May 8 in Abidjan.
In detail, a valid research permit for nickel, rare earths, cobalt, gold and chrome was granted to the Société Ivoirienne d’Exploration et de Recherche SARL in the departments of M’Batto and Toumodi. and Taabo. The company Parnassa Invest SAS also obtained a permit to explore for nickel, cobalt, copper, silver and gold in the Biankouma department. The company Khaleesi Resources SARL has finally obtained a research permit, valid for lithium in the departments of Agboville and Adzopé.
Apart from gold, silver and chrome, the metals covered by these permits are the subject of growing demand worldwide, in the context of the energy transition. Cobalt, nickel, rare earths and lithium are in fact used in the electric vehicle industry, while copper and rare earths are also in high demand in renewable energies, particularly for solar panels and wind turbines.
With the granting of these exploration permits, the government hopes to position Côte d’Ivoire as a supplier of these critical metals in a few years, thanks to the potential discovery of deposits of copper, nickel or lithium. For the moment, the local mining sector is dominated by gold exploitation, with production expected to reach 55 tonnes in 2024, compared to 50 tonnes expected in 2023.
