[Ferro-Alloys.com] According to the head of the Federal Agency for Mineral Resources, the interaction also entails expanding the framework of activities of intergovernmental commissions

Russia plans to expand cooperation with African countries in the area of geological exploration and mineral production, Head of the Federal Agency for Mineral Resources Yevgeny Petrov said in an interview with TASS.

Soviet and Russian geologists have already contributed much to the opening and exploring of African fields, he noted. "Those were the openings of bauxite deposits in Guinea, gold ore fields in Mali, [deposits of] diamonds in Angola, cobalt in Morocco, rare metals in Mozambique," Petrov explained.

He mentioned Alrosa’s activities on diamond production in Angola, Rusal’s bauxite production in Guinea, manganese production in South Africa (by Renova), gold production in Guinea (by Nordgold) and uranium geological exploration in Namibia (by Rosatom) among major current examples of Russian companies’ presence in the African mining sector. "And we plan to continue expanding cooperation in this sector, including within the framework of activities of intergovernmental commissions," head of the agency noted.

The state of geological exploration of Africa’s territory still remains low, Petrov said. He also noted the considerable potential of unidentified mineral resources, adding though that to be unlocked, this potential requires high-tech approaches, cutting-edge technologies and serious capital investments. In turn, Russia is ready to offer its own technologies on a number of geological areas to African nations, the official concluded.

Source:MOSCOW, August 17. /TASS/.

• [Editor:tianyawei]