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[Ferro-Alloys.com] Gabon–Eramet: In Nairobi, the industrial gamble on manganese between sovereign ambition and structural constraints

Long confined to nothing more than a political pledge, the local processing of Gabonese manganese has now changed in nature. The agreement reached between President Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguéma and Eramet Chief Executive Officer Christel Bories on the sidelines of the Africa Forward Summit has turned it into an operational requirement, underpinned by firm commitments and set deadlines.

This paradigm shift is genuine. For decades, Gabon has exported the bulk of its raw manganese, letting other countries — led by China — capture the industrial added value. The country only collected revenues from extraction without controlling the downstream segments of the value chain. The agreement with Eramet seeks to reverse this pattern by anchoring part of the ore processing process on Gabonese soil.

The specific terms of this commitment nevertheless remain to be defined. What volumes of manganese will be covered? Which industrial sectors will be developed — ferromanganese, battery materials, or special alloys? Over what timeframe and at which sites? The official statement refers to a local processing ecosystem without detailing its structure. It is precisely on these criteria that the strength of Eramet’s commitment will be measured.

The industrial equation is far from simple. Local manganese processing requires robust energy infrastructure, a skilled workforce, and identified commercial outlets — three constraints that Gabon still needs to fully address. The modernisation of the Transgabonais Railway, also formalised in the agreement, represents an essential logistical prerequisite for any industrial expansion in the Haut-Ogooué region.

Nevertheless, President Oligui Nguéma has sent a strong signal to its mining partners and international markets: Gabon now intends to exert influence over the entire value chain of its strategic resources, and no longer settle for being merely a supplier of raw materials.

On the sidelines of the Africa Forward Summit, President Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguéma received Christel Bories, Chief Executive Officer of the Eramet Group, for a decisive bilateral meeting. At the heart of the discussions were the local processing of manganese, the modernisation of the Transgabonais Railway, and the consolidation of a strategic industrial partnership spanning more than thirty years.

A key milestone in the economic sovereignty strategy

Following the meeting, Eramet confirmed its operational commitment to the local processing of manganese in Gabon, with a timetable jointly defined alongside the national authorities. This announcement is part of a broader political trajectory: a gradual shift from an extractive economic model to an industrial model that generates greater added value within national territory.

Gabon aims to put an end to the export of raw manganese by 2029, a strategic initiative intended to capture revenues from its natural resources domestically.

With an output of 6.8 million tonnes in 2024 and an estimated direct economic contribution of 229.5 billion CFA francs, Eramet’s subsidiary Comilog remains a pillar of the Gabonese economy, alone accounting for around 15% of global manganese production.

A structured yet asymmetric industrial partnership

While official discourse promotes a “renewed” and “balanced” partnership, economic reality reveals profound interdependence. Gabon provides the raw resource, while Eramet controls the entire industrial and commercial value chain, notably thanks to its global network in the steel industry.

This structural imbalance explains why Gabonese authorities have chosen to favour an experienced industrial operator rather than pursuing risky independent development. To date, Eramet is still the only mining company in Gabon with an operational processing facility: the Moanda Metallurgical Complex, inaugurated in 2015 after an investment of over 160 billion CFA francs.

Yet this experience has also laid bare the limits of the existing model: technical difficulties, logistical constraints and energy dependence have slowed the capacity expansion of this infrastructure.

The energy challenge: the Achilles’ heel of industrialisation

One of the main obstacles to local processing lies in energy supply. Manganese metallurgy is extremely energy-intensive: processing 2 million tonnes would alone require nearly 1,000 MW, exceeding Gabon’s current power capacity, estimated at 704 MW.

Faced with this challenge, the authorities have set a medium-term power target of 1,280 MW, with assessed hydropower potential standing at 6,000 MW. However, this gap between industrial ambitions and real energy capacities raises questions over the timeline and economic viability of the announced projects.

The Transgabonais Railway: a critical link in the industrial chain

Another core component of the strategy is the modernisation of the Transgabonais Railway, an essential rail infrastructure for mineral transport. A new phase of financing was formalised during the meeting, cementing its central role in the national industrial strategy.

In the first quarter of 2026, rail transport of manganese reached 1.6 million tonnes, up 16% year-on-year, with an annual target set between 6.4 and 6.8 million tonnes.

Beyond the mining sector, the Transgabonais Railway is a vital infrastructure for the entire national economy, connecting production zones, ports and urban centres.

Between political ambition and economic realism

On the political level, this diplomatic development reflects the Gabonese government’s determination to place industrialisation at the core of its economic transformation agenda. The adopted approach is progressive, structured and developed in consultation with industrial partners.

Economically, however, multiple uncertainties remain:

the real capacity to finance and deploy the necessary energy infrastructures;

the competitiveness of processed products on international markets;

the ability to build a genuine local industrial fabric beyond extractive activities.

For local processing does not automatically guarantee wealth creation: production must be achieved at competitive costs, and products must be sold in a highly competitive global market.

A closely watched strategic turning point

The Nairobi meeting marks less a radical break than an acceleration of a process already set in motion since Emmanuel Macron’s state visit to Libreville in November 2025.

Above all, it confirms a clear reality: Gabon has entered a phase of industrial transition, whose success will depend equally on the consistency of public policies and the ability to overcome structural constraints.

Caught between political determination and technical limitations, the gamble on locally processed manganese remains undecided. Its outcome will determine, in the medium term, the credibility of Gabon’s model of economic sovereignty.

On the sidelines of the Africa Forward Summit being held in Nairobi, Kenya, the President of the Republic, Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema, met with Christel Bories, Chairwoman and Chief Executive Officer of the Eramet Group. The meeting paved the way for a decisive turning point in the management of the country’s natural resources.

This structural transformation aims to build a strong economy rooted in value-added creation and national mastery of strategic resources. Through this partnership, Eramet commits to clear deadlines for developing a local industrial ecosystem, thereby fostering the creation of skilled jobs for Gabonese nationals.

A Rise to Strategic Capital Positioning

The most notable announcement of this meeting lies in a shift in governance: Gabon is taking up equity in the Eramet Group. This strategic repositioning makes the Gabonese State an indispensable player at the heart of the global mining value chain. In addition to this financial stakeholding, the agreement provides for the modernisation of the Transgabonais Railway, the vital rail infrastructure for the evacuation and processing of minerals.

For the Office of the President of the Republic, this agreement embodies the vision of “mining sovereignty”. Under the impetus of the Head of State, the country affirms its resolve to establish itself as an emerging industrial power and a major actor shaping economic balances in Africa and internationally. “This decisive turning point embodies a clear and fully embraced vision: that of a sovereign, industrial and competitive Gabon,” read a statement from the Office of the President of the Republic.

By carving out this path toward sustainable and inclusive development, Gabon no longer settles for merely exporting its mineral wealth underground; it has now resolved to build its industrial future from these resources on its own territory.

• [Editor:tianyawei]