La empresa marroquí Managem se asocia con Wanbao Mining para aumentar la extracción de oro en Sudán

Last Tuesday, the Managem company announced through a press release its plan to start exploiting the Gabgaba gold mine, located in Sudan. This project will be carried out together with the Chinese company Wanbao Mining and will have a production cost of 250 million dollars. The two companies have reached an agreement to share the mine. Moroccan Managem will obtain 65% of the property with exploitation and exploration rights, while Wanbao Mining acquires the remaining 35%. "I am convinced that this new strategic cooperation, based on trust and mutual respect, will have a positive impact on both our companies and will result in a multi-million ounce gold mining operation in Sudan," said Imad Toumi, CEO of Managem.

The Moroccan company's aim with this project is to boost the country's mining sector, which currently contributes 10% of the country's Gross Domestic Product. It also aims to double investment in mining and create 30,000 jobs. This agreement means an increase in annual gold production from approximately 60,000 to 200,000 ounces. "Today we are giving a new impetus to our growth strategy in Sudan by bringing forward the development of a large-scale gold project targeting 200,000 ounces of production in the medium term," said Imad Toumi.

The Managem company started in 1930 with the extraction of materials such as cobalt, copper, zinc and silver. It is currently working in other African countries such as the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Gabon, Guinea Conakry, Ivory Coast and Mali. In this joint project with Wanbao Mining, Managem continues its expansion in Africa. This also means an increased Moroccan presence in the rest of the African continent, countering the European or Russian presence on the continent. Since 2017, when Morocco decided to rejoin the African Union (AU), its foreign policy has been very focused on Africa. Morocco is one of the most relevant investors in the continent after South Africa, and during the coronavirus pandemic it showed leadership by sending medical aid to 15 countries and developing proposals to African leaders to combat the virus.

This also marks an improvement in economic and diplomatic relations between Morocco and China. In 2016, Mohamed VI and Xi Jinping signed an agreement focusing on the economy and infrastructure development. The Asian giant included Morocco in the Silk Road Initiative, as ports such as Tangier Med are key to its financial operations, and it was also agreed to increase trade between the two countries. In terms of infrastructure, China has built roads, housing and an industrial zone in Morocco, as well as financing the Noor (Arabic for 'light') project, a solar energy complex in the desert.

These good relations have been maintained and increased during the coronavirus pandemic. China has sent a large quantity of medical supplies and vaccines to the African continent, through Sinopharm, a state-owned pharmaceutical company, and Sinovac, a private company. 500,000 doses have been exported to Rabat and other countries such as Zimbabwe and Equatorial Guinea have also received free doses. In addition, Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin has assured that China will help 19 other African nations. In a statement issued by the Royal Cabinet, King Mohammed VI thanked China for this gesture and announced that he had held a telephone conversation with President Xi Jinping to discuss the countries' joint fight against the virus. "The conversation served to thank the People's Republic of China for the support and accompaniment it has given to the preventive measures taken by the Kingdom of Morocco to curb the spread of the pandemic, both in terms of medical equipment and detention tests, and in terms of information exchange". This gesture, together with the cooperation between Morocco and China in Africa, strengthens China's influence on the continent to the detriment of European countries and the United States.