(Ecofin Agency) - The project aims to valorize Gabon’s mining potential. It will improve the sector’s management, by monitoring businesses that explore and exploit the country’s resources, and by expanding available date on geological potentiel.

Gabon’s Ministry of Economy seeks a firm to draft application texts for Law N°037/2018, which regulates the country’s mining industry. The African Development Bank (AfDB) will back the reform project with a loan, as part of the PADEG initiative to diversify the central African economy.

For six months, the hired firm will help set up a regulatory framework that outlines the benefits and opportunities for investors in Gabon's mining industry. The firm will review existing regulations, draw new ones, and present their findings in a workshop with the mining administration and other stakeholders.

Gabon also plans to hire another firm for a four-month study to set up a technical center that will promote and support mining projects within the Ministry of Mines. This center will help attract investment for developing mineral resources.

The consultant will focus on seeking mining deals, tracking their development, conducting related studies, and oversee public investment programs to boost mining potential. Gabon also wants to improve the skills of its mining administration staff to better manage mining deals.

These efforts are intended to attract more investment into Gabon's mining sector, which has many valuable minerals, including tantalum, manganese, gold, iron, potash, uranium, rare earths, niobium, and phosphate. Until 2009, the sector mainly relied on manganese mining, contributing only 4% to GDP, 1.3% of non-oil budget revenues, and providing 1,500 formal jobs.