The contribution of mining activity to the Ivorian economy increased by more than 10% in 2020 reaching 850 billion FCFA, or 1.3 billion euros, announced Wednesday the Professional Group of Miners of Côte d'Ivoire (GPMCI).

"The (mining) sector has crossed the threshold of more than 850 billion FCFA of direct contribution to the national economy ," Jean-Claude Diplo, president of the GPMCI, told AFP.

In 2019, the contribution was 761 billion FCFA (1.16 billion euros), from the same source.

Mining activity "today creates more than 17,000 direct jobs (and more than 40,000 indirect), annually makes nearly 250 billion FCFA (380 million euros) of investments and operates more than 350 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) national or local", Mr. Diplo added.

The sector, dominated by manganese and gold production, is "ultra resilient" despite "Covid-19 restrictions that have temporarily disrupted our operations," he said.

The GPMCI believes that the outlook for the coming decade is "very good" for the mining sector. "Major projects are being developed to transform mining potential into tangible opportunities. Important production and processing poles are being set up," Diplo said.

Côte d'Ivoire's gold production, which is on the rise, reached 32.5 tonnes in 2019 compared to 24.4 tonnes in 2018. Manganese production increased from 792,000 tons to 1.18 million tons at the same time.

Figures for 2020 are not yet available.

The Ivorian subsoil contains a lot of gold, mined in nine mines (two others under construction) held by two Canadian companies, Barrick Gold and Endeavour mining, and two Australian, Afrique Gold and Perseus Mining.

There are also diamonds, iron, nickel, manganese (four mines), bauxite, and copper in Côte d'Ivoire.

The mining sector, which contributes 5% of Côte d'Ivoire's gross domestic product (GDP), is set to grow strongly in the medium term thanks to the opening of new mines.

West Africa is a highly gold-rich region of the world, with three countries (Ghana, Mali, Burkina Faso) among the top five gold producers in Africa.