Gabon, Eramet Comilog and Sinohydro signed a letter of intent on 5 November in Beijing on the power supply for a planned manganese alloy plant. The subsidiary of Chinese group PowerChina thus joins the studies required for this industrial site.
The plant is planned for the Libreville area. To supply it, the partners will in particular examine the development of one or more hydroelectric power stations, with the aim also of contributing to national electricity capacity.
A power partnership still to be defined
Cooperation remains to be defined. The work will cover technical options, but also their commercial and financial terms. Comilog stresses that industrial feasibility depends on competitive and durably available energy.
This condition was already set out in the protocol of 20 July 2026 between Gabon, Eramet and Comilog. The roadmap provides for three industrial scenarios capable of processing up to 700,000 tonnes of ore a year by the end of 2031. This volume remains a study target, whose achievement depends on bringing together the necessary economic conditions.
Processing already has a base in Moanda
Local processing already has an anchor in Moanda. In its industrial presentation, updated in October 2024, Comilog describes an enrichment washing plant and facilities that add value to part of the ore on site. The Moanda industrial complex was commissioned in 2000 to produce an agglomerate for ferromanganese.
The Moanda metallurgical complex also includes a manganese oxide activity, brought into operation in 2020, used in particular for fertilisers and animal feed. The Libreville-area project therefore fits into an existing supply chain, with an energy condition that the new letter of intent is to help specify.