PARIS (Reuters) -French mining group Eramet has appointed an executive to oversee mineral processing in Gabon, the company said on Tuesday, as the West African country seeks to end exports of unrefined manganese and boost local processing.
Gabon’s government announced at the end of May that it would ban the export of raw manganese from January 2029, joining other West African states in seeking to capture more value from their mining resources.
Eramet Chief Executive Paulo Castellari said at the end of July that he had met Gabonese President Brice Oligui Nguema following the decision that could hit Eramet’s massive export-orientated production of the steel ingredient in the country.
The company said in a statement that Clement Jakymiw would take up the new role of director of value chain transformation in Gabon, reporting to Castellari.
“This approach echoes the country’s ambition for industrialization and local processing and is part of the longstanding partnership that has united Eramet with Gabon, the Group’s historic home for nearly thirty years,” Castellari said in the statement.
Jakymiw was previously deputy chief operating officer in charge of manganese ore.
Gabon, also an oil exporter, holds some of the world’s richest manganese deposits that are primarily operated by Eramet’s Comilog subsidiary.
Comilog, in which Gabon holds a minority stake, processes some manganese locally but mostly exports its ore.
(Reporting by Gus Trompiz and Maxwell Akalaare Adombila; Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise)
