Sahel Edition

Sahel: Foreign Mining Firms Face Growing Risks as Juntas Assert Control Over Resources



Posted On 11 November 2024

Number of times this article was read : 7213

Mining companies that have been operating in the Sahel for a long time are now experiencing a tectonic shift in their industry’s landscape in the region. The Sahel has always attracted entrepreneurial companies from far away Canada, Australia, Russia, South Africa and other places, eager to take risk in the Sahel, long regarded as a resource-rich region with vast mineral reserves. But these days, since the Sahelian nations of Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso were taken over by military juntas, mining companies are now experiencing heightened risk like never before.

________
This analysis is reserved for clients subscribing to The North Africa Journal Already a subscriber?
Please log in here

Not a subscriber? Take advantage of our lowest subscription rates. Subscribe today

West Africa: ECOWAS in turmoil

West Africa’s economic grouping, ECOWAS, faces a new crisis as former chairman and Guinea-Bissau President Umaro Sissoco Embalo refuses to step down despite his mandate ending on February 27, 2025. Embalo, who once criticized Sahelian coup leaders on behalf of ECOWAS, now defies the organization, even expelling its mediation delegation.

Sahel: Terror Groups Gain Ground as Armies Struggle to Contain Them

Al-Qaeda’s Sahel branch (GSIM) is now emerging as the region’s dominant jihadist force. Even the brutal Islamic State has been largely unable to contain SGIM’s expansion, which has been expanding its control across Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger.

Brief: Fifteen Migrants Found Dead in a Boat off the Coast of Nouadhibou, Mauritania

Mauritanian authorities discovered a boat near Nouadhibou carrying 39 migrants, including nine deceased and ten in critical condition. Survivors, primarily from Senegal and Mali, reported that fifteen migrants died from exhaustion, though not all bodies were found. The deceased were buried by local authorities. Mauritania has become a key transit point for African migrants attempting to reach Europe via the Canary Islands.

Mali: The Failing Campaign of Wagner in Mali Presages Trouble for the Junta in Bamako

There have been more chatter and speculations about the activities of Russia’s mercenaries, formerly known as the Wagner Group, now reportedly called the Afrika Corps in the Sahel. It is unclear if the name "Afrika Corps" is official, but if so, it certainly confirms...