ABIDJAN (Reuters) – Ivory Coast produced a record high of about 48 tonnes of gold in 2022, up 14% from the previous year, a document from the Ministry of Mines, Petrol and Energy showed.
Ivory Coast, the world’s top cocoa producer, is seeking to develop its long-neglected mining sector to diversify its revenue.
Gold output has been climbing steadily for several years and is expected to reach 50 tonnes this year with the start of production from two mines belonging to Roxgold, owned by Fortuna and Tietto Minerals, according to the document seen by Reuters on Wednesday.
Production is expected to reach 55 tonnes in 2024, when a new mine from Endeavour starts operating, it said.
Other big gold mining companies operating in Ivory Coast include Barrick Gold and Perseus Mining.
Manganese output fell by 3% to 929,700 tonnes in 2022 while nickel output rose by 31% to 1.84 million tonnes, the document showed. Â
(Reporting by Loucoumane Coulibaly; Editing by Nellie Peyton and David Goodman)