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[Ferro-Alloys.com] Gabon’s Nguema to prioritise pro-investment during Mining Indaba

Since his appointment on 1 January 2026 to the role of Minister of Mines and Geological Resources, Sosthène Nguema Nguema has been leading the pro-investment campaign in a bid to grow Gabon’s mining industry.

Minister of Mines and Geological Resources, Sosthène Nguema Nguema.

Minister of Mines and Geological Resources, Sosthène Nguema Nguema. Supplied by Ministry of Mines and Geological Resources of Gabon

Nguema, an environmental engineer and former Minister of Oil and Gas, is expected to bring a pragmatic approach to the sector, with investor attraction a core focus.

The leadership transition comes at a pivotal moment. Armed with a higher budget for 2026 than previous years, a sign of president Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema’s commitment to grow the sector, the new minister is tasked with managing this increasingly strategic sector and pivoting the nation away from historical oil dependency toward a more diversified economy.

“Gabon is no longer just a destination for extraction; we are becoming a hub for industrial value creation,” stated Nguema Nguema. “Our 2026 roadmap is built on transparency, regulatory speed and a firm commitment to local transformation and very strong value creation for investors as well as local communities. We are open for business, and we are ready to partner with those who share our vision for sustainable industrialisation.”

A sector in transformation

Currently, mining contributes approximately 6% to Gabon’s GDP, dominated by its status as the world’s second-largest producer of high-grade manganese. However, the government’s Transformation Acceleration Plan (PAT) aims to increase this contribution to 25% by 2030.

To achieve this, the Ministry is focusing on three priorities:

Manganese value addition: Advancing toward the 2029 raw ore export ban by incentivising the domestic production of silicomanganese.

Iron ore scalability: Accelerating the world-class Belinga and Baniaka projects, supported by a massive upgrade to the Trans-Gabonese railway.

Gold formalisation: Prioritising exploration and formalising artisanal sectors in Koumba, Eteke, and Minkébé to ensure international traceability and refining standards.

To achieve the above goals, the state-owned mining (holding company) Société Équatoriale des Mines (SEM) intends to affect a dramatic shift from its historical role as a passive state shareholder to an aggressive industrial operator, a key tenet of its 2026–2030 strategy. SEM will move from a “partner operator” into a “reference African industrial mining company.” Revenue targets are set reach USD1-billion by 2030. SEM intends to achieve this target by focusing on:

SEM-led exploration and industrial-scale extraction of primary gold. Gold mining hotspots such as Minkié and Mitzic are expected to play major roles.

Gold refining in the country is also expected to grow significantly with the Gabonese Gold Refinery (RGO), which has a processing capacity of up to 10 tonnes of gold annually, expected to play a central role. The refinery is strategically located in the Nkok Special Economic Zone near Libreville

Providing technical oversight for massive projects like Belinga (Iron) and ensuring downstream processing compliance

Increasing manganese processing and value creation in the country

Lastly, accelerating exploration and data acquisition to commercialise the huge mining potential that Gabon offers, and upgrading the investor operating environment

Minister Nguema Nguema is expected to bring a pragmatic approach to the sector, with investor attraction a core focus. The ministry is expected to cut lead times for exploration and mining permits. Several ministerial decrees are also expected in the coming weeks, which will clarify and ease the implementation of the existing 2019 Mining Code.

The Minister will be at Indaba, where he will be addressing investors in different fora. He invites international investors, exploration firms and infrastructure partners to reach out to the ministerial party to discuss potential opportunities in Gabon.

Source: Ministry of Mines and Geological Resources of Gabon

• [Editor:tianyawei]