Mauritania

CIA Factbook
Political rights and civil liberties (Freedom House)
Arabic-English online dictionary
Travel and accommodation

Source: CIA Factbook

Maps and images

• Mauritania Google Satellite Maps
• Mauritania Cities,Towns, Airports, Maps, Images
• Mauritania Geological and Mining Information
• Mauritania Geology and mineral potential
• Mauritania Geology-1
• Mauritania Geology-2
• Mauritania Image-1
• Mauritania Image-2
• Mauritania Landsat (SW)
• Mauritania Landsat (SW) Geology
• Mauritania Minerals

Copper

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• First Quantum Minerals Ltd (TSX:FM.TO) operates the Guelb Moghrein copper-gold mine near Akjoujt where measured and indicated reserves have been estimated at 23,7 million t at a grade of 1,88% Cu and 1,41 g/t Au or 1,074,000 oz gold (1% Cu cut-off).

Diamond

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Gold in Mauritania

Gold Home

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Click HERE for a map showing valid gold prospecting licences in 2002

Geology

The Tasiast deposit is located within the Archean age Aouéouat greenstone belt, a 70 km long by 15 km wide north-south trending belt of mostly supracrustal rocks situated within the south-western sector of the Reguibat Shield (or Dorsale Reguibat). The rocks to either side of the greenstone belt consist of granitoids and gneisses.
The Guelb Moghrein deposit appears to be of Iron Oxide Copper Gold (IOCG) type, and is hosted by gently dipping mafic volcanics and sediments, adjacent to a small gabbroic intrusive. Copper-gold mineralization, which comprises coarsely disseminated chalcopyrite and cubanite, with minor free gold, cobaltite and arsenopyrite, is associated with disseminated magnetite and intense siderite alteration of a mafic volcaniclastic unit.

• Rio Narcea Gold Mines, Ltd (Canadian, TSX:RNG; AMEX:RNO) is developing the Tasiast gold deposit. The Tasiast gold project has measured and indicated resources of approximately 12,07 million tonnes averaging 3,06 g/t Au, or 1,19 million oz, which includes proven and probable reserves within four open pits of 9,01 million tonnes averaging 3,06 g/t Au, or approximately 886 000 ounces at a gold price of US$370 per ounce. In addition, inferred resources total 12,4 million tonnes averaging 2,25 g/t Au or approximately 899 000 oz. Tasiast is forecast to produce an average of 105 000 oz of gold annually over the current 8-year mine life at a cash operating cost of approximately $240 per ounce. This includes an initial stage of approximately three years during which Tasiast will produce approximately 120,000 oz annually at a cash cost of approximately $220 per ounce. Lundin Mining Corporation (Canadian, LUN.TO, LUNCF.PK) made a friendly C$1-billion all-cash bid for Rio Narcea Gold Mines Ltd in April,2007. Lundin plans to sell Rio Narcea's interest in the Tasisast gold project to Red Back Mining Inc. for $225-million (U.S.) in cash and the assumption of C$42,5-million in debt.

• Red Back Mining Inc took ownership of Tasiast in August, 2007, and 148 000 t of ore have been batch treated at a head grade of 4, 44 g/t and 96% recovery, resulting in production of 20 138 oz of gold. It is anticipated that approximately 23 000 oz will be produced for 2007, and going forward, budgeted production at the expanded Tasiast for 2008 is 100 000 oz to 110 000 oz.

• First Quantum Minerals Ltd (TSX:FM.TO) operates the Guelb Moghrein copper-gold mine near Akjoujt where measured and indicated reserves have been estimated at 23,7 million t at a grade of 1,88% Cu and 1,41 g/t Au or 1,074,000 oz gold (1% Cu cut-off).

• Shield Mining Ltd (Australian, SLMDF.PK) holds five Group 2 permits (gold and base metal) that cover a total area of 7381km2. The permits are located in the north-west corner of Mauritania, close to the international border with Western Sahara (north) and Algeria (north-east), between 800km and 1200km north-east of the capital Nouakchott. Applications were submitted during the middle of 2005 for a further six Group 2 permits with a total area of 8210 square kilometers. It has also signed a joint venture agreement with General Mining Services S.A. of Mauritania to explore their Saboussiri permit in southern Mauritania. The terms of the JV are such that Shield will immediately acquire a 60% interest in the permit. Shield will undertake and fund the exploration of the permit up to a bankable feasibility study at which point both parties will contribute proportionally. Both parties have pre-emptive rights. BRGM discovered copper mineralisation in jaspilites and hematite breccias at the main prospect of Diaguili in the early 1970’s and undertook two campaigns of drilling resulting in very significant, but conflicting results. General Gold carried out soil sampling campaigns which delineated a number of Cu-Au anomalies. Subsequent drill testing of these failed to produce any significant results. BHP Billiton identified the potential for IOCG (Iron Oxide Copper Gold) targets on the property and undertook remote sensing and airborne geophysical surveys in the period 2000 - 2003. Despite identifying a number of anomalies the company relinquished the tenement before testing any of them.

Oil and Natural Gas

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Mauritania's offshore region became a new oil province with Woodside Petroleum Ltd's Chinguetti, Banda, Tiof and Tevet discoveries between 2001 and 2004 which have oil reserves of several hundred million barrels. In February 2006, Mauritania began producing its first oil from the Chinguetti oilfield , which is located offshore 56 miles southwest of Nouakchott. The field has estimated proven reserves of 123 million barrels of oil. The field was producing around 15,000 barrels per day (bbl/d), but output was expected to reach capacity of 75,000 bbl/d by the end of 2006.
The Mauritanian government created the national oil company, Société Mauritanienne des Hydrocarbures, in 2004.
In March 2005, the Mauritanian government created a separate ministry of oil and energy to handle the energy portfolio. The ministry is headed by Mohamed Aly Ould Sidi Mohamed. In 2005, Mauritania imported 24,000 bbl/d of petroleum products, as its refinery is not in use.

• Oil production: 75,000 bbl/day (2006 est.)
• Oil proved reserves: 1 billion bbl (2005)

• Woodside Petroleum operates the Chinguetti field with a 47.38 percent interest and is joined with partners Hardman Resources (19.01 percent), Mauritanian-government controlled Société Mauritanienne des Hydrocarbures (12 percent), BG Group (10.23 percent), Premier Oil (8.12 percent) and Roc Oil Company Ltd (3.25 percent).
  In addition to Chinguetti field, Mauritania possesses several other promising offshore oil and gas fields. The Tiof oilfield, which is located 16 miles north of the Chinguetti field, may contain up to 350 million barrels of oil. The Tiof-6 exploration well was drilled successfully in February 2005. Woodside and its partners believe that the field may start producing at 50,000 bbl/d in mid-2007, with production potentially rising to 150,000 bbl/d in 2008.
  

• The Banda field, located 12 miles east of Nouakchott, may contain natural gas reserves of 3-5 trillion cubic feet (Tcf).
  

• UK-based Dana Petroleum is working with LNG operators to determine development options for the Pelican field. The Pelican natural gas field is estimated to hold 1 to 1.5 Tcf.
  

• With Mauritania's best offshore blocks under contract, other companies have lined up to explore onshore blocks, particularly in the Taoudeni Basin in the northeastern part of the Mauritanian desert. Spain's Repsol, China National Petroleum Co. and Woodside Petroleum are among the companies that have been awarded Taoudeni blocks.

• In January 2005, France's Total signed two production sharing contracts there, covering nearly 22,394 square miles.
  

• Tullow Oil holds interests in eight blocks offshore Mauritania, the majority of which were acquired as part of the Hardman Resources takeover. These blocks cover nearly 47,000 sq km, extend along 750 km of coastline and include most of the prospective offshore basin area. Since 2000, over 30 exploration, appraisal and development wells have been drilled. Of the exploration wells, Chinguetti, Tiof, Tevet and Banda all resulted in significant oil and gas discoveries, while the Pelican well discovered gas (with the possibility of a downdip oil leg). Exploration success to date is roughly 50% at the Miocene stratigraphic level and 25% at the Cretaceous.
  

Source: Tullow Oil

Uranium

• Alba Mineral Resources has a 50% holding in a private mineral exploration company, Mauritania Ventures Limited (MVL),which was established to investigate the uranium potential of north-eastern Mauritania. It has been awarded two uranium exploration permits with an additional four uranium exploration permits pending. Work programmes have commenced and field programmes are scheduled for January 2007. The permit areas are contained within a zone considered prospective for unconformity-type uranium mineralization.

• Murchison United NL (Australian) has been granted two uranium exploration licences in the Republic of Mauritania and is waiting for the outcome of a further four licence applications being processed. Murchison United reported in December, 2007, that drilling had started focusing on one of its key exploration licences at Bir En Nar in the Zednes region, in Mauritania.
  The drilling programme is the first drilling undertaken by Murchison United within its portfolio of uranium interests in Mauritania.
  It follows the successful completion of the company’s maiden drilling programme earlier this year at the Firawa prospect in Guinea, which returned encouraging initial results.
  

• Shield Mining Ltd was awarded its first licences to explore for uranium in Mauritania, the company said in December, 2007. First work on the acreage was expected to start in 2008. Shield said that it was also looking to rapidly grow its new uranium position by at least a further 60% through four uranium exploration applications currently with government authorities. The maiden approvals cover two licence areas totalling 2 815 km2, although the granting of all four of the current applications would extend those uranium-only exploration rights to nearly 4 400 km2. The uranium licences generally cover Shield's existing gold and base metal licences.