Gabon and China’s South Manganese Investment Limited signed a memorandum of understanding in China on Friday, November 6, 2026, for a CFAF116.7 billion project to process manganese locally at M’Bembélé, near Ndjolé, the Gabonese Press Agency reported.
The proposed complex would initially produce 180,000 tonnes of processed manganese a year. The partners then plan to expand annual capacity to 1.08 million tonnes from 2030, under the development plan presented at the signing.
The project encompasses ore beneficiation as well as the energy and logistics facilities required for local processing. It is designed to increase the industrial activities carried out in Gabon around a mineral that plays a significant role in the country’s mining sector.
Talks preceded the agreement
Gabon’s Minister of Trade, Industry and Processing, Emmanuel Eyeghe Nze, signed the memorandum with Zhang He, chairman of South Manganese Investment Limited. The agreement follows discussions in Libreville with representatives of CICMHZ, the Chinese group’s Gabonese subsidiary.
Gabon’s government has linked the proposed investment to its strategy of processing more natural resources domestically, alongside the development of industrial skills, jobs and infrastructure. Authorities have set 2029 as a policy horizon for strengthening the country’s manganese-processing industry, while the M’Bembélé project’s planned capacity expansion is scheduled from 2030.