Ogooué Mining Company (Comilog- Subsidiary of Groupe Eramet), through its manganese branch, announced Saturday a quarterly production of ore greater than 8% in the first quarter of 2018 compared to that of the first quarter of 2017. Similarly, ore sales rose 23%.
According to the data of the French metallurgical giant, turnover amounted to 429 million euros (281.4 billion CFA francs) in the first three months of 2018, compared to 418 million euros ( 274 billion F CFA) on a comparable basis to 2017; a slight increase of 3%.
This improvement is due to the implementation by the Eramet Group of an investment program that runs from 2017 to 2025 for the renovation of the Transgabon railway line operated by Setrag, a subsidiary of Comilog
For Comilog, the target for ore production for 2018 is at least 4 million tonnes, which was last year’s record.
Average manganese ore prices for the first quarter of 2018 were $ 7.4 / dmtu, up 28% from the comparable period of 2017 and up 16% from the fourth quarter of 2017.
Globally, global manganese production remained stable in the first quarter of 2018 compared to the same period in 2017. This reflects the good level of global steel activity.
The capital of Comilog is divided between the Gabonese State (28.94%), the Eramet Group (63.71%) and the private sector (7.35%). The Gabonese state could, after the discussions, increase its stake in the capital to 35%, which the Eramet Group is in favor.
