ASMARA (Reuters) – An impending mining boom in Eritrea will challenge oil-rich neighbours to make it easier for foreign companies to prospect across a massive geological structure in the region rich in base metals and gold, analysts say.
Eritrea set the government’s stake in any mining project at 10 percent stake in 2008 with an option to buy a further 30 percent, a small claim compared to other countries in the area like Egypt which mandates a 50 percent stake or Sudan at 60 percent, according to industry experts.
The relatively liberal mining terms have led more than a dozen foreign companies to get licenses to explore in Eritrea which analysts expect to accelerate dramatically in the next five years and provide a lifeline for the impoverished economy.
Advanced projects are at Bisha, run by Canada’s Nevsun Resources Ltd, with gold production expected by the end of the year, and at Zara, run by Australia’s Chalice Gold Mines and expected to start producing a year later.
“In the next ten years other nations in the region will look at Eritrea’s mining boom and they will want in. They will relax their laws and it will become a regional boom,” Timothy Strong, Eritrea manager for British company London Africa, told Reuters.
“If you look at the geography, Eritrea is a relatively small nation compared to African giants Sudan and Egypt, but it has many more foreign mining companies than the others combined. Geologically speaking, they are just as prospective as Eritrea.”
The companies are attracted to Eritrea because it sits on a patch of the Arabian Nubian Shield, a geologic feature that stretches from Saudi Arabia and Yemen in the east to Sudan and Egypt in the west.
PRESSURE ON THE NEIGHBOURS
Tucker Barrie, an economic geologist and an expert on the Arabian Nubian Shield, says neighbouring countries have already taken note that foreign companies are now prospecting nearby.
“It is not going to wash with any foreign company if Khartoum keeps asking for 60 percent of gold mining projects. That’s why even though it’s 50 times the size of Eritrea, there is only one foreign company mining there,” he said.
“However Khartoum is well aware it needs to revise its mining law. In fact, they asked me to show them a copy of Eritrea’s mining law. The bottom line is, these are poor countries and they should take as much as they can of their own resource, but it’s a balancing act, they still need to invite foreign companies into their country.” Source: (Reuters)
Related posts:
Asmara
24°
Port Sudan
26°
Attention all Eritreans,
This is another indication that Issaias and his cohorts will not rest untill our nation is falling off the cliff.So far they have been successful to get our nation to the edge of the cliff while all of us watch and do nothing.By now we all should know that this regime offers nothingbut bankruptvision of misery and horror.
Its unbelievable to see a regime that has been claimingto be nationalist and bragging about being firm with and taking on the NGO’s and forieng companieswhen dealing about the national interest.But the fact of the mattter, is the otherwiseand here are the facts speak for themselves.All the regime cares is power and to keep the dictator at the helmeven at the expense of the whole nation.No wonder they are auctioning our resources in a hush hush and swift manner to these greedy foreing companies.
The evidence is that you see the number of greedy foreign companies doing business in Eritrea and a lot more are lined up to take thier share of the pie in a nation that the true owners (Eritreans)seem to care less about.Imagine,there is only one mining company in Sudan that is 50 times bigger that ours and they claim 60% stake of thier resource.Is it because they care for thier nation and the future generation? You bet they do.But look at our dictators are doing.They only claim 10%stake of our resources and let 90% get robbed by the greedy companies and no wonder they are linning up in a large number.
Brothers and Sisters,
If this is what we want our nation to be in,then lets keep watching while or nation is bleeding to death in front of our eyes.Its time to say ENOUGH is ENOUGH and take care of our nation that hundreds of thousands perished for.
Otherwisehistory and our future generation will hold us responsiblefor simply watching when our resourcesare robbed by greedy forien companies in conjunction with a dictator of our ownin a broad day light.
Justice will prevail,
Death to the dictators
Eziwedhankum,
Merhawy a crap like you can write say what ever he like but the camel is marching and you (dog)just barking.
You are one of these ”USEFUL IDIOTS” that the dictator relied on to keep doing his dirty job. Useful Idiots are zombies that don’t understand what is going on around them and its sickness
that is going to heal after everything gone wrong. By then its too late too little.
Think of what I commented about.
Why does the regime let forieng companies rob our resources by claiming only 10% when rich countries like Sudan claim 60% stake of thier resources.
REMEMBER,these kind of resources are not renewable. Once gone, they are gone for good. So what about the future generation?
If we don’t do anything to stop this madness of your dictator,the future generation will hold us responsible.
Justice will prevail,
Death to the dictator,
Ezi wedhanka,