The regulation of mining

Mining

Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, from an ore body, vein or seam. The term also includes the removal of soil. Materials recovered by mining include base metals, precious metals, iron, uranium, coal, diamonds, limestone, oil shale, rock...

in Equatorial Guinea

Equatorial Guinea

Equatorial Guinea, officially the Republic of Equatorial Guinea where the capital Malabo is situated.Annobón is the southernmost island of Equatorial Guinea and is situated just south of the equator. Bioko island is the northernmost point of Equatorial Guinea. Between the two islands and to the...

is handled by the Ministry of Mines, Industry, and Energy, which oversees activities in the mining and petroleum

Petroleum

Petroleum or crude oil is a naturally occurring, flammable liquid consisting of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights and other liquid organic compounds, that are found in geologic formations beneath the Earth's surface. Petroleum is recovered mostly through oil drilling...

 industries.

Petroleum exploration and production is the core of Equatorial Guinea's economy

Economy of Equatorial Guinea

Equatorial Guinea is a small country at the west coast of Central Africa. Despite a per capita GDP of more than US$30,000 which is as of 2008 the twentieth highest in the world, Equatorial Guinea ranks 121st out of 177 countries on the United Nations Human Development Index.-Economy...

, and accounts for over 90 percent of Equatorial Guinea's national income

Gross National Income

The GNI consists of: the personal consumption expenditures, the gross private investment, the government consumption expenditures, the net income from assets abroad , and the gross exports of goods and services, after deducting two components: the gross imports of goods and services, and the...

. As a result, little attention has been given to exploring and making use of the country's mineral

Mineral

A mineral is a naturally occurring solid chemical substance formed through biogeochemical processes, having characteristic chemical composition, highly ordered atomic structure, and specific physical properties. By comparison, a rock is an aggregate of minerals and/or mineraloids and does not...

 resources

Natural resource

Natural resources occur naturally within environments that exist relatively undisturbed by mankind, in a natural form. A natural resource is often characterized by amounts of biodiversity and geodiversity existent in various ecosystems....

; There is no commercial mining, although there are minor gold mining

Gold mining

Gold mining is the removal of gold from the ground. There are several techniques and processes by which gold may be extracted from the earth.-History:...

 operations. The Equatoguinean government has conducted preliminary explorations that they believe show potential mining opportunities for diamond

Diamond

In mineralogy, diamond is an allotrope of carbon, where the carbon atoms are arranged in a variation of the face-centered cubic crystal structure called a diamond lattice. Diamond is less stable than graphite, but the conversion rate from diamond to graphite is negligible at ambient conditions...

s and coltan

Coltan

Coltan is the industrial name for columbite–tantalite, a dull black metallic mineral from which the elements niobium and tantalum are extracted. The niobium-dominant mineral is columbite, hence the "col" half of the term...

., and the Ministry of Mines is now promoting the country's mining potential in hopes of attracting investors

Historically, the peoples of Equatorial Guinea produced gold and iron

Iron

Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. It is a metal in the first transition series. It is the most common element forming the planet Earth as a whole, forming much of Earth's outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust...

 before being colonized by Spain

Spanish Empire

The Spanish Empire comprised territories and colonies administered directly by Spain in Europe, in America, Africa, Asia and Oceania. It originated during the Age of Exploration and was therefore one of the first global empires. At the time of Habsburgs, Spain reached the peak of its world power....

. During colonial rule, there were no commercial mining operations. Following independence in 1968, Soviet

Soviet Union

The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

 and French

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 geologists found potential deposits of gold, bauxite

Bauxite

Bauxite is an aluminium ore and is the main source of aluminium. This form of rock consists mostly of the minerals gibbsite Al3, boehmite γ-AlO, and diaspore α-AlO, in a mixture with the two iron oxides goethite and hematite, the clay mineral kaolinite, and small amounts of anatase TiO2...

, tin

Tin

Tin is a chemical element with the symbol Sn and atomic number 50. It is a main group metal in group 14 of the periodic table. Tin shows chemical similarity to both neighboring group 14 elements, germanium and lead and has two possible oxidation states, +2 and the slightly more stable +4...

, tungsten

Tungsten

Tungsten , also known as wolfram , is a chemical element with the chemical symbol W and atomic number 74.A hard, rare metal under standard conditions when uncombined, tungsten is found naturally on Earth only in chemical compounds. It was identified as a new element in 1781, and first isolated as...

, and coltan

Coltan

Coltan is the industrial name for columbite–tantalite, a dull black metallic mineral from which the elements niobium and tantalum are extracted. The niobium-dominant mineral is columbite, hence the "col" half of the term...

. Additional surveys conducted by GEMSA, a Spanish-Equatoguinean joint venture, and UMCEG (Ocean Energy, previously named United Meridian Corporation) performed airborne and land surveys, as well as the creation of GIS

Geographic Information System

A geographic information system, geographical information science, or geospatial information studies is a system designed to capture, store, manipulate, analyze, manage, and present all types of geographically referenced data...

 databases.

The government claims ownership of all mineral resources, and regulates them under law 9/2006 (replacing the former Mining Law, 9/1981).

Gold

Artisan

Artisan

An artisan is a skilled manual worker who makes items that may be functional or strictly decorative, including furniture, clothing, jewellery, household items, and tools...

s using placer mining

Placer mining

Placer mining is the mining of alluvial deposits for minerals. This may be done by open-pit or by various surface excavating equipment or tunneling equipment....

 techniques retrieve gold from rivers in Rio Muni

Río Muni

Río Muni is the Continental Region of Equatorial Guinea, and comprises the mainland geographical region, covering 26,017 km².-History:Río Muni was ceded by Portugal to Spain in 1778 in the Treaty of El Pardo...

, primarily the areas of Cogo, Aconibe

Aconibe

Aconibe is a town located on mainland Equatorial Guinea. Population 13,382 It is 4th largest settlement in the country....

 and Mongomo

Mongomo

Mongomo is a city in Wele-Nzas Province in mainland Equatorial Guinea.From Mongomo originate the nation's first president Francisco Macías Nguema and of the current President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, hence the name the clan of Mongomo to define those belonging to his ruling clique.The area is...

. The Equatoguinean government believes that at least 2.3 tons of gold were collectively produced from these small operations.

In 2006, the United States Geological Survey

United States Geological Survey

The United States Geological Survey is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, and the natural hazards that threaten it. The organization has four major science disciplines, concerning biology,...

 reported that about 200 kg of gold were produced in Equatorial Guinea.

Diamond

Indicators of diamond

Diamond

In mineralogy, diamond is an allotrope of carbon, where the carbon atoms are arranged in a variation of the face-centered cubic crystal structure called a diamond lattice. Diamond is less stable than graphite, but the conversion rate from diamond to graphite is negligible at ambient conditions...

 deposits in Gabon

Gabon

Gabon , officially the Gabonese Republic is a state in west central Africa sharing borders with Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north, and with the Republic of the Congo curving around the east and south. The Gulf of Guinea, an arm of the Atlantic Ocean is to the west...

 extend to the southern border of Rio Muni, and the Equatoguinean government believes surveys may show the potential for diamond deposits in southeastern Rio Muni.

Coltan

The government reports that evidence of the presence of coltan

Coltan

Coltan is the industrial name for columbite–tantalite, a dull black metallic mineral from which the elements niobium and tantalum are extracted. The niobium-dominant mineral is columbite, hence the "col" half of the term...

 (columbite

Columbite

Columbite, also called niobite, niobite-tantalite and columbate [2O6], is a black mineral group that is an ore of niobium and tantalum. It has a submetallic luster and a high density and is a niobate of iron and manganese, containing tantalate of iron. This mineral group was first found in Haddam,...

-tantalite

Tantalite

Tantalite, [2O6], is a mineral group that is close to columbite. The two are often grouped together as a semi-singular mineral called coltan or "columbite-tantalite" in many mineral guides. However, tantalite has a much greater specific gravity than columbite...

, a tantalum

Tantalum

Tantalum is a chemical element with the symbol Ta and atomic number 73. Previously known as tantalium, the name comes from Tantalus, a character in Greek mythology. Tantalum is a rare, hard, blue-gray, lustrous transition metal that is highly corrosion resistant. It is part of the refractory...

 ore) has been found near Aconibe

Aconibe

Aconibe is a town located on mainland Equatorial Guinea. Population 13,382 It is 4th largest settlement in the country....

 and Akamiken. Very little exploration work has been performed in these areas, however.

External links

• Ministry of Mines, Industry, and Energy (English)