Managem, the mining behemoth which is controlled by the Moroccan royal family, announced on Wednesday that it had acquired control of the Boto gold property in Senegal for $197 million.
The sale is part of a $282-million deal last year to buy the assets of Canada’s Iamgold, which also includes mines in Mali and Guinea.
Management stated that the Senegal mine would strengthen its position in West Africa and increase its near-term gold production.
The acquisition of other gold assets in Guinea and Mali is expected to be completed in the third quarter, according to the company.
Al Mada, the investment holding company of the Moroccan royal family owns an 81.4-percent stake in Managem, which operates in six African countries.
The Moroccan royal family’s stake in the company is worth $2 billion.
Last year, the company recorded an 88% increase in earnings to 1.615 billion dirhams ($160 million) due to increasing precious metals sales.
Managem, which is listed on the Casablanca Stock Exchange, has been mining in Africa for 90 years, mostly producing precious metals (silver and gold), base metals (copper, zinc, and lead), cobalt, and fluorine.
It has 21 industrial sites and employs about 7,500 people directly or indirectly.
It is also an integrated group that manages the entire value chain, from looking for new deposits to selling its goods, which includes operating extraction sites and processing and recovering mineral ores.
Managem has established an R&D center in Marrakech with more than 60 researchers, submitted 30 industrialized processes, and holds eight internationally recognized patents.
