Foray into the Diogo zircon mine in Senegal
Grande Côte Operations (GCO) started the exploitation of zircon in Senegal with the Diogo mine in the Thiès region in 2014 with a production of 9,040 tonnes of zircon.It gradually increased its volumes going from 41,836 tonnes in 2015 to 52,627 tonnes of zircon in 2016 the company Grande Côte Operations (GCO) had set itself as objectives, for the year 2018, to reach 90,500 tonnes of zircon and540,000 tonnes of other heavy minerals (ilmenite, rutile, leucoxene).The long -term goal of the Diogo mine is to produce 85,000 tonnes of zircon.
But the achievement of this objective seems to be carried out, according to the Senegalese Minister of Mines and Geology.Oumar Sarr who was expressed, Thursday, June 8, 2021 after a visit to the installations of the Chemical Industries of Senegal (ICS), of the company Grande Côte Operations (GCO), a company which operates zircon in Diogo and its recasement sitesAnd those rehabilitated argued that "the country did not gain enough mining".
During this visit, M.Sarr has announced a "grooming" of the legislation framing the exploitation of mining resources, to allow the State to benefit more.Announcement made after a visit to the Diogo mining site, between Dakar and Saint-Louis.Grande Côte Operations (GCO), 90 % controlled by the French group Eramet and 10 % by the State of Senegal, has operated mineralized sands there since 2014, mainly ilmenite and zircon.Accused of "opacity" by civil society officials, in a sensitive and very closed sector, GCO has exceptionally opened its doors to the press.How does the site work ?What are these mineralized sands for, where are they sold?
She never stops.24 hours a day, the giant dredge 50 meters long by 17 wide aspire the sand of the Diogo dunes.It moves about 30 meters a day in an artificial pool.
"We are faced with what we call GCO mine.How's it going ?You see in front of a flirt.The operation takes place 6 meters below the ground.She takes the sand and sends it to the preconcentration plant, "explains Doctor Mahamat Seck, director of planning and geology.
A floating factory, for a first sorting.The dunes contain only 1.5% of mineralized sands: ilmenite, zircon, leucoxene and rutile.The rest, the "simple sand" is rejected at the back of the basin, "one kilometer behind", he said.
It is then necessary to separate the four products, in a second factory ... helmet, safety shoes, signaling vest are required."We can classify these products into two families.Ilmenite, rutile and leucoxene are titanifers products used in paint, for plastics and papers.The other family is that of zircon which resists a lot of heat and also has whitening properties, which is why it is used in the abrasive, nuclear and foundry, "describes the engineer Saliou Mbaye, coordinator ofthe production.
According to the ministry of mines, GCO produced more than 521,000 tonnes of ilmenite, black in color, and 85 tonnes of zircon, light beige."People associate zircon with a product found in jewelry, in jewelry.You have seen that this is absolutely not this one [who is here], we are talking about Zircon sand, "says Benoît Robitaille, Managing Director of GCO.
Zircon's sand is the one that has the most value on the market."On a historic average over 5 years, ilmenite is between $ 220 and 250 per ton.The zircon at the moment is around 1,450 US dollars per ton, ”he adds.
The company has its own trains to transport products to the port of Dakar before export, to Spain, Portugal, France, China, Japan or the United States.The company is currently preparing a new operating phase in the neighboring region of Louga.
Moctar Ficou / VIVAFRIK
With RFI
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