Gold production in Gabon has been stable for five years: around 2 tonnes per year, with export revenues amounting to 8.4 billion CFA francs in 2021. National gold resources are estimated at 40 tonnes.
Sales of raw gold reached 8.4 billion francs in 2021, according to statistics from the Directorate General of Customs and Indirect Taxes (DGDI). Refined gold represented 0.31 metric tons of Gabon's total exports. According to figures from the Equatorial Mining Company (SEM), Gabon's gold production is approximately 2 tons per year. Gold mining in Gabon dates back to 1937. Since then, Gabon has collected approximately 40 tons of gold from the processing of gold extracted from various artisanal mining sites throughout the country.
However, the exploitation of artisanal mines in Gabon in recent years by smuggling networks has exposed the country to numerous problems, including illegal immigration, conflicts between gold miners and local populations, and environmental threats with a sharp increase in poaching. A large portion of this gold production comes from the processing of alluvial gold.
To boost the gold sector, the government granted seven additional permits in 2017 to four companies: Alpha Centauri Mining SA, Gabon Gold, Maxi Gold, and the Société Équatoriale des Mines (SEM). Alpha Centauri Mining (ACM), a company with London and Emirati capital, is launching the first gold refining plant in the Nkok Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in 2022. Initially, this gold processing unit will have a capacity of four tons per year. ACM's objective is to export only refined gold, processed in Gabon, and thus increase the value of this mineral resource. In the coming years, Gabon hopes to increase production in order to build a strategic gold reserve and enhance its credibility in international markets.