Improving local value creation and guidelines
Project description
Title: Integrated economic development in the extractive sector in Mauritania
Commissioned by: German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ)
Country: Mauritania
Lead executing agency: Ministère du Petrole, des Mines et de l'Energie, MPME (Ministry of Petroleum, Mines and Energy)
Overall term: 2019 to 2021
Context
Barely any other country in the world is as reliant on revenue from the extractive sector as Mauritania. Fluctuating global market prices determine export turnover and government revenue from this sector. Alongside industrial mining, artisanal gold mining has developed over the past three years and is becoming increasingly important. This has created income and jobs for approximately 80,000 people.
The government is striving to diversify the production base in the industrial mining sector. In addition to the existing mining of gold, copper, high-purity quartz (silicon) and heavy mineral sands (titanium, zirconium), new licences have also been granted for the mining of phosphate and uranium deposits.
The National Strategy for Accelerated Growth and Shared Prosperity (Stratégie de Croissance Accélérée et de Prospérité Partagée, SCAPP) forms the central guiding framework at national level. The SCAPP has identified the extractive sector as one of the central factors for long-term economic growth in Mauritania. Moreover, the national mining strategy sets out in detail the political objective in several strategic fields of action and provides the foundation for the project.
Objective
The conditions for making best use of the potential in the mining sector have been created and have contributed to the transformation of the economy in the long term.
Approach
The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH is working in various fields of action.
The first field of action focuses on providing advice on the implementation of measures to promote the local value creation of mining goods and services and on processing the extracted raw materials:
- A study provides information on the current status of the industrial mining industry and the results of this sector. A national dialogue platform helps to boost local value creation. Moreover, vocational education and training courses aimed at young people and that meet the requirements of the mining operation in Chami and Zouérat are being defined.
- The second field of action promotes the capacity of institutions to monitor and implement stand-ards relating to the environment, transparency, health care, occupational health and safety and human rights, as well as adherence to legal regulations in artisanal operations:
The project provides information materials on the implementation of environmental, health-related and social guidelines, which the local non-governmental organisations (NGOs) use for their awareness-raising campaigns.
The Ministry of Petroleum, Mines and Energy is examining the socio-economic and environmental impacts of mining in the gold extraction centres of Zouérat and Chami.
- Moreover, awareness-raising and training measures are being prepared and implemented for mu-nicipal administrations, representatives of miners and representatives of small industrial gold ore processors.
A preparatory study has been conducted on the introduction of mercury-free gold extraction at the processing centres in Chami and Zouérat.
A mining software solution that can be used to improve the central and local administration of mining and processing permits in artisanal gold mining is being developed and implemented.