New Gabonese Administration Could Mean Major Iron Mine Development

摘要

On Aug. 31, Ali Ben Bongo, son of Gabon's late ruler Omar Bongo, declared victory in the central African oil nations presidential election, Reuters said. The August 30 election was triggered by the death of President Omar Bongo in June after more than 40 years in power in the densely forested west African coastal country of 1.5 million people. The Wall Street Journal said in a recent article that Ali Ben Bongo and other candidates have pledged to tap a huge iron ore resource, the Belinga mine, deep in tropical forest. Rights to the mine were awarded in 2006 to a consortium led by China National Machinery and Equipment Import & Export Corp (CMEC), which was allowed to mine there without tax-free for 25 years. In the deal, the mine's entire output would go to Chinese investors that would build a 300-mile railway, hydroelectric stations and a deepwater harbor to support the mine's development. But work hasn't gone beyond feasibility studies.