Gold’s rally is driving a rush to one of metal’s final frontiersú

Step aside Canada, Australia and South Africa: West Africa is fast becoming the hottest ticket in gold mining.

Producers and prospectors are pouring money into the region as prices rally and the industry at the southern tip of the continent keeps shrinking. While gold miners face a dearth of new discoveries globally, large parts of West Africa have barely been explored. The deposits tend to be shallow — meaning easy access — and relatively low-cost.

At least two new projects started up this year and a further two are scheduled for 2020. AngloGold Ashanti Ltd. is also expanding and modernizing its Obuasi mine in Ghana and Canada’s Iamgold Corp. is considering a new operation in Senegal. In July, Resolute Mining Ltd. agreed to buy another West Africa-focused producer.

West African Gold Rush

Deposits are concentrated in tracts of gold-rich rock called Birimian belts.

At the center of the action are the Birimian belts, tracts of ancient, gold-rich volcanic rock that stretch from the fringes of the Sahara to the Atlantic coast. While West Africa has a long tradition of gold mining — Ghana was known as the Gold Coast under British colonial rule — the vastness of the region and political insecurity in some areas mean its riches remain mostly untapped.

“West Africa is brimming with potential,” said Kelvin Dushnisky, the chief executive officer of the world’s No. 3 gold producer AngloGold. “Our Obuasi mine is a spectacular orebody that will be a significant production engine for Ghana and AngloGold for many years to come.”

Both of AngloGold’s larger rivals, Barrick Gold Corp. and Newmont Goldcorp Corp., also have mines in the region, and Newmont recently completed an expansion project in Ghana.

Investment, especially in exploration, slowed across the industry after gold prices came off the highs seen in 2011 and 2012, and most producers were focused on cutting debt and lowering costs rather than new spending.

Now, with gold back around $1,500 and ounce, there’s more money to go around.

Highly Lucrative

Most of West Africa’s gold deposits have yet to be found and mined, according to Oumar Toguyeni, Iamgold’s vice president for the region.

“If you are looking for gold in West Africa, you go to the Birimian belt,” Toguyeni said by phone from Mali. “The potential is still there as the region remains under explored. It’s the easier deposits that were found.”