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Last week was the big economic summit in St. Petersburg. The Central African and Malian Ministers of Mines were notably present. They both expressed themselves in the Russian media, especially Sputnik and Ria.ru. The main objective put forward is to intensify the exploitation of the basements.
Russian companies already have exploration permits, recalls the Central African Minister of Mines and Geology. However, it is looking for new investors. Rufin Benam Beltungu therefore came to reassure both on the mining code being developed and on the security situation in the country: “ We are working on having a much more attractive legal framework to be able to attract investors. State authority is restored virtually everywhere. So today, there are businesses, companies that are in the exploration phase that quietly carry out their activities more than 300 – 400 km from Bangui. »
Exploit Malian oil
On the Malian side, the Minister of Mines, Energy and Water says he is counting on Russian cooperation to ensure that the Malian market is sufficiently supplied with fuel and gas. Lamine Seydou Traoré also hopes to see oil activities revived. “ I also think that Russian cooperation will also allow us to accelerate the exploitation of Malian oil because in this cooperation, we also plan for Russia to be able to strengthen and intensify the search for oil in the various basins that we have in Mali. »
Exploration campaigns have so far remained sketchy for technical and security reasons… Companies like the Italian Eni, or the Algerian Sonatrach which had permits have never pushed their research.
►Also read: St. Petersburg Forum: Africa, land of “opportunities” for a marginalized Russia