With the aim of processing 100% of the gold mined in Gabon locally, President Ali Bongo Ondimba has inaugurated Gabon’s very first gold refinery in the Nkok Preferential Investment Zone, some thirty kilometres from the capital Libreville.
This Gabonese gold refinery has a refining capacity of 7 to 10 tonnes of gold per year and is part of Gabon’s vision to process the country’s raw materials locally.
A press release from the Gabonese presidency stated that this is “the first gold refinery in Central Africa, designed to refine 100% of the gold produced in Gabon, to make the country a hub for gold refining in Central Africa and to carry out a third transformation on site, in particular to manufacture jewellery in Gabon”.
Gabon is rich in gold, which has been mined for years on a small-scale basis, and it is time for major industrial projects to make this sector one of the levers of the national economy.