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Image used for illustrative purpose. A worker works at the Lauzoua manganese mine, some 180 km (112 miles) from Abidjan December 4, 2013. Ivory Coast aims to quadruple its manganese production to around 1 million tonnes of ore within three years, boosted by new investments from the China National Geological and Mining Corporation (CGM), Ivorian state miner Sodemi said on January 10, 2014. The West African nation, the world's top cocoa grower, is pushing to develop its long-neglected mining sector as part of efforts to diversify the economy as it recovers from a decade-long political crisis. Having signed a partnership agreement with Sodemi in 2009, CGM has reopened the previously abandoned Lauzoua mine and in April last year extracted the first manganese, a metal used in the production of steel. Picture taken December 4, 2013. REUTERS/Thierry Gouegnon
Elcora Advanced Materials Corporation is working on a comprehensive mining plan for manganese under the ‘Atlas Fox Deposit’ licence in Morocco, the Canada-based mining company said in a press statement.
Heavy machinery and production equipment are already being shipped on-site, the statement said, adding the plan will be based on detailed maps of the former French mine located on its concession allowing for faster and more efficient production.
The Atlas Fox Deposit was mined until the mid-1950s when the French rule in Morocco ended, leaving about 40 extracted manganese ore piles and numerous surface veins and pits on-site, the statement stated.
Following negotiations with mining company Gold Lion, Elcora will retain 100 percent ownership of the manganese concession. In September, Gold Lion bought a 25 percent stake in the manganese permit under a $75,000 cash deal, among other terms.
Elcora’s local Moroccan team is working on getting the last government requirements with plans to start production before the end of 2022, the statement said.
(Writing by P Deol; Editing by Anoop Menon)
