Introduction
The artisanal and semi-industrial mining sector has undergone a qualitative transformation in terms of organization, sustainability, and openness to investment prospects since the National Agency Maaden Mauritania took over its structuring and supervision.
This is no longer a traditional gold mining activity, but a truly integrated industry with a strong economic impact, generating thousands of jobs and significantly contributing to the national economy.
Between 2020 and today, gold production from this sector has reached nearly 9 tons, confirming its role as a major source of national revenue and highlighting its contribution to economic diversification and strengthening the country’s precious metal reserves.
Furthermore, the volume of trade and revenues achieved demonstrate the attractiveness of this sector for both domestic and international investors.
As part of the 2024-2029 five-year strategy, the Agency is currently working to develop infrastructure, strengthen the added value of existing activities, and create new sectors to increase production capacity and consolidate the sector’s contribution to sustainable development.
Investment Areas: A Multitude of Promising Opportunities
1. Investing in the Semi-Industrial Sector
This area covers two main types of activities:
Small-scale mining: allows investors to operate a specific mining site under official license, in accordance with strict technical and environmental standards.
This activity offers high profitability in the medium and long terms and contributes to increasing national gold production.
Processing of artisanal mining residues: Specialized national companies operate in this area by reusing residues from artisanal gold panning to extract the remaining gold with high efficiency. This activity is particularly lucrative due to the abundance of ore-rich tailings, and it combines economic value with environmental benefits.
2. Investing in artisanal mining
As the backbone of artisanal gold production, this segment encompasses several key activities:
Sinking shafts and majhar: Extraction of gold ore from underground using techniques and tools ranging from the most rudimentary to the most sophisticated.
Ore grinding workshops: Infrastructure specialized in grinding and processing rock extracted from mining sites. These workshops, largely located in the processing centers located in Tiris Zemmour, Dakhlet Nouadhibou, and Brakna, represent a rapid, high-return investment opportunity.
3. Supporting Activities and Services
Opportunities are not limited to direct production activities; they also extend to promising support sectors, such as:
The supply of equipment and machinery dedicated to exploration and processing.
Logistics and transportation services.
Safety, security, and environmental protection services.
An Attractive Investment Environment
The artisanal and semi-industrial mining sector in Mauritania benefits from a rare competitive advantage: abundant resources, a guaranteed solid legal framework, simple procedures, and a diversity of investment opportunities.
The presence of the National Agency Maaden Mauritania as a regulatory body ensures transparency and offers investors a stable working environment, with direct government support in terms of infrastructure and basic services.
An open invitation to investors
The Regulatory and Marketing Department of the National Agency Maaden Mauritania reaffirms its willingness to provide investors with all the necessary technical information, geological data, legal requirements, and related services.
Its doors are open to all interested stakeholders, whether they are seeking to invest in small-scale mining, in the processing of artisanal mining residues, or in any other area of support for this vital sector.
Conclusion
The artisanal and semi-industrial mining sector in Mauritania is not a traditional activity, but rather an integrated economic system, combining direct production, value-added creation, employment opportunities, and high profitability.
Investing in this sector today is a commitment to a prosperous future and a cornerstone of supporting the national economy and achieving sustainable development.