Pan-African finance institution the African Development Bank (AfDB) has granted Mauritania’s national mining corporation Société Nationale Industrielle et Minière (SNIM) a $150 million senior loan facility.
The funds will be used to support the corporation’s iron ore logistics and production capacity while facilitating the development of a 12 MW solar plant.
“This logistics expansion project is extremely important for SNIM. It will bring the production projects we have planned closer to the implementation phase,” stated Mohamed Vall Mohamed Telmidy, CEO of SNIM.
Forming part of SNIM’s broader $467 million logistics expansion program – an initiative to attract investment in iron ore logistics with the aim of doubling production by 2030 – the funds enable SNIM to increase the production of higher value-added products – specifically, iron ore pellets.
“This program is a crucial forerunner of SNIM’s future growth as a producer of high-quality iron ore and will facilitate its downstream integration. It also represents a significant step forward for Mauritania’s mining sector and will help establish a true regional industrial hub in the medium term,” added Solomon Quaynor, AfDB Group’s Vice President for Private Sector, Infrastructure and Industrialization.
