Central African Republic is one of the most endowed countries in Africa in terms of minerals resources. In fact mining contributes to about 10% of the country’s GDP and Gold is the country’s second largest mineral resource behind diamond. This makes the Central African Republic an important destination for any serious investor in the gold production sector.

What the Central African Republic has lacked was a stability that would attract investment into the mining sector. With the return to a fragile but more peacefulness after several years of civil strife, the country has most of its mineral resources still intact which gives a perfect opportunity for you as an investor in the country’s gold sector. A massive mineral rich region is still waiting to be explored in the country.

Early Mining in Central Africa

Like most African countries, gold mining in the Central African Republic is quite an old trade with early mining done way before the colonial period. Most of the early gold mining was alluvial gold mined along streams and on mountain slopes by small scale artisanal miners. Most of this gold was sold to Arab traders from the north although some were used to decorate the homes of local kings and nobles.

With the arrival of the French colonizers mining continued in small scale. After the county attained its independence there were efforts to start large scale gold mining but persistent civil strife slowed down the growth of the country’s mining sector.

New Mining Projects

Today most of the gold in the central Africa is still produced by small scale artisanal miners in the Haute-Kotto, Haute-Sanghe and Barberati regions. The gold mining and trade is managed by the Bureau d’Evaluation et de Côntrole de Diamant et d’Or (BECDOR) which maintains the country records on gold production and issues licenses for gold exploration and mining.

In the recent past the government has been seeking out important international investors to help growth the country’s gold production. Some of the important gold projects in the country’s gold sector include the following.

Asquith Resources Gold Project

The Asquith Resources is an important gold production company in the country working on a major gold project. The company holds an advanced exploration license for the Bandas Greenstone Belt located to the North of the country’s capital city, Bangui. The company is currently working on developing the Roandji gold Property which is on a 90km strike on the greenstone belt.

The project has in the last two years produced about 1.7 tons of gold. The company has already identified a 5 km strike on the belt that has about gold grades of up to 4.8g/ton that it wants to develop further.

Passandro Project

This is another important gold project in the country. The gold project is a 5km radius that is made up of both the French Camp prospects and the Main Zones. The project has already recorded economically significant gold finds that were discovered by a reverse circulation drilling. The Main zone is estimated to have about 1.6 km delineated mineralization both along the strike and open at the depth. The gold grade is estimated to be about 2.9g/t gold.

Also Read: Mining Gold Deposits from Greenstone Belts

And: An Overview of the Open Pit Mining Process

Ngodo Gold Project

This is an important gold project located at about 2km towards the Northwest of the French Camp. The project has several drillings underway and more exploration is likely in the near future. This has shown great excitements both in government circles and for investors as further analysis of the soil anomaly is being done.

Ngetepe Gold Project

This is another important gold project that has result positive results in the recent past. The project is located at about 1.2 km to the Southeast of the French Camp. The project has had about 18 test holes that were drilled at 800 m.

Future Mining in the Central African Republic

Very similar to other countries in the region such as the Democratic Republic of Congo, Chad, and Sudan, future gold mining efforts will be highly dependent on the stability of the country as a whole. War will prevent outside investors from establishing projects within these regions, so a safe region in which to operate will be absolutely critical for future mining endeavors in Central Africa.