WEST AFRICA MINERALS YEARBOOK—1988sales of fish and fish products
have ~ become the nation's leading foreign ~ exchange earner, with iron ore
and small quantities of gypsum and plaster products accounting for about
onethird of all export earnings. Mauritania ~ enjoys a number of advantages
over most iron ore exporters, including the ~ proximity of the western European
markets and the capacity of its port to accommodate larger ships of 120,000
to 150,000 deadweight tons. These limit the cost of ore transport to Europe
to $3.00 per ton. 
 Petroleum products refined from Algerian crude oil piped to the Nouadhibou
refinery were sufficient to meet most domestic requirements. Mauritania's
expenditures on fuel and energy imports in 1988 were reported at $25 million
reduced from $33 million in 1987 before refinery operations restarted. 
 
 Commodity Review 
 
 Metals.—Copper.—Production at the Akjoujt Mine was scheduled
for resumption by late 1989. The mine had been closed since 1978 due to technical
problems and an uncertain investment climate driven by a prolonged period
of low copper prices. Total investment for the ~ reactivation was estimated
at $40 million. 
The mine will be operated by the Société 
Arabe Minière D'Inchiri (Samin). The 
Mauritanian Government owns a 37.4% 
interest in thecompany; Jordan, 32.5%; 
Iraq, 12.5%; Libya, 10.1%; and the 
Arab Investment Co., 7.5%. 
 Mining operations will focus on the sulfide ore body remaining below the
oxide ores extracted in earlier operations. Mine reserves were estimated
at 100 million tons of ore averaging 
2.25% copper and 1.17 grams of gold per ton. Initial output was anticipated
at 65,000 tons annually of a 25% copper concentrate. 
 
 Gold.—Recovery of gold from 2.5 million tons of copper tailings
from
earlier mining operations at the Akjoujt Mine was scheduled to begin 
 
 214 
in 1989. The tailings contained 3 to 5 grams ofgold per ton (0.08 to 0.15
troy ounce per short ton). When fully operational, gold extraction from old
tailings as well as from new mining operations at the Akjoujt Mine should
reach 1 ,000 kilograms annually. 
 
 Iron Ore.—Mining was conducted 
by the Société Nationale Industrielle et Minière-Société
d'Economie Mixte (SNIM) in the Kedia d'Idjill deposit where additional reserves
of 65% iron (Fe) content ores have been identified, which will permit extraction
at current levels to continue through the mid1990's. Earlier estimates called
for reserve depletion by 1990, after which time all mine activity would shift
to the lower iron content magnetite ores of the desert plains known as the
Guelbs. 
 Phase 1 of the Guelbs project included the El Rhein open pit mine, which
was inaugurated in mid-1984 with reserves estimated at 285 million tons of
37% Fe content ore. At full capacity, mine output was planned at 1 3.8 million
tons per year using conventional mining methods employing 15-meter benches
and a maximum 50° slope. 
 The ore beneficiation plant employed a dry enrichment process involving
magnetic separation. Planned output for the plant was 6 million tons per
year of a concentrate averaging 65% Fe content in the form of 1 .2 million
tons of magnetite sinter-plant feed, 2.6 mulion tons of oxidized sinter feed,
and 2.2 million tons of fine-grained magnetite concentrate. The beneficiation
plant operated well below capacity largely due to the rapid wear of the mills
and a dust buildup. Output was estimated at 2 million tons. 
 In 1988, the African Development Bank, the Arab Fund for Economic and Social
Development, Caisse Centrale de Cooperation Economique, the European Development
Bank, and the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development financed a $70 million
loan to solve beneficiation problems at the 
El Rhein plant and to improve rail line and port facilities. Plant modifications
included replacement of materials to improve resistance to abrasion, installation
alterations to improve material flow, and redesign to facilitate plant maintenance.

 The second mine in the Guelbs project, Oumm Arwagen, originally was scheduled
for operation in 1990 from a reserve base of 100 million tons. However, development
was delayed by the identification of additional higher grade reserves at
Kedia d'Idjill, the necessity of improving concentrating operations at El
Rhein, and improving world iron ore market conditions. By 1988, the plan
for phase 2 of the Guelb development project shifted away from the Oumm Arwagen
deposit in favor of developing the Mhaoudat deposit about 30 kilometers to
the northeast. It has proven reserves of 100 million tons of ore containing
64°lo to 68% iron, 0.003 ¾ phosphorus, 0.00l°lo
sulfur, 2%
to 7% silica, and 0.57% alumina. SNIM reported that development cost was
estimated between $70 and $100 million. 
 
 Industrial Minerals.—Gypsum.— Production was derived
from the
N'Drahamcha quarry, 50 kilometers northeast of Nouakchott. The quarry was
owned and operated by the Société Arabe des Industries
Metallurgiques
Maritano-Koweitiennes. Although annual capacity was reported at 120,000 tons,
actual output dictated by the market demand was estimated at 20,000 tons.

 
 Phosphate.—Discovered and evaluated by SNIM, BRGM (France), Geomin
(Romania), ' and Compagnie Sénégalaise des Phosphates
de Thiès,
the Bofal deposit in southern Mauritania was estimated to contain 120 to
150 million tons of phosphate-bearing material averaging 20% P205. The remote
location of the deposit required high infrastructure costs and financing
was not yet secured.