Mali (2008-2012)

The project entitled "Evaluation of the resource potential of the building materials of Mali for material support for the development of the local infrastructure" was focused on the comprehensive evaluation of the potential of basic building materials from selected areas of Mali (Kayes Province - limestone and dolomite) and the Koulikoro region, in the wider vicinity of the Bamako agglomeration (building stone, stone for coarse and fine masonry, sand and gravel). These are the basic building materials necessary when securing raw materials for reconstruction projects and for the development of the local infrastructure of the country. An integral feature of the project was the "capacity building" of the partner organisations DNGM (Direction Nationale de la Géologie et des Mines - the State Geological and Mining Service) based on the supplying of equipment, the transfer of know-how and increasing the skills of the Malian specialists.

The results of the project, mainly operative in the urban capital Bamako, were highly positive. The survey carried out verified the industrial importance of the identified deposits of building stone - dolerite at the Sokolombougou site. The assessed reserves of over 70 million m³ are usable in full given the favourable deposit and hydrogeological conditions, the small thickness of the overburden, the favourable technological quality of the raw material and its suitability for use and the absence of any conflicts of interest.

The thoroughly verified Kirina deposit of sand and gravel with an area of more than 2 km² and with more than 6.4 million m³ of explored reserves of high quality raw materials suitable for the production of concrete or mortar represents a very important object, the lifetime of which is estimated to be approximately 25-30 years at an anticipated annual mining capacity of cca. 350-400 thousand tons.

The results of the exploration work in the Kayes region confirmed the initial assumption that there are still unverified and unused deposits of carbonate materials. Their size and their industrial importance are marginal in regard to both the deposits found, Selinkégni and Nafadji, and their use at any time in the future will be possible only in the event of the existence of production capacity (of the cement plant) in the area of the known Astro (Gangontéry II) deposit close to Selinkégni and the development of the necessary infrastructure. In the event of the fulfilment of these conditions the lifetime of this investment, it is considered, in relation to its production capacity, can be extended by cca. 20-30 years.

The Ministry of Mines and the management of the DNGM, in addition to verifying the industrially important deposits of construction materials, particularly appreciated the project section for increasing the professional skills of their specialists and the transferred collection of modern field equipment. The expression of a deep and serious interest in the continuation of Czech professional support and cooperation in the project of the utilisation of the construction material resources was the request of the Minister of Mines for assistance in the implementation of the pilot project, the semi-industrial mining of building stone in the locations identified on the basis of the results of the implementation of this development project, for the development of the infrastructure of the capital city, Bamako.

Information about the project:

Photos and information from the fieldwork carried out in Mali are available in the Corporate Calendar for the year 2014.