Eritrea sees mining start by end of 2009Tue 13 May 2008, 14:56...

Eritrea sees mining start by end of 2009
Tue 13 May 2008, 14:56 GMT

By Andrew Cawthorne and Jack Kimball

ASMARA, May 13 (Reuters) - President Isaias Afwerki forecast on Tuesday that Eritrea's first gold mine would begin producing by the end of 2009, starting a metals industry with "huge" reserves and potential to drive development.

But Isaias said his government would take time with its foreign partners to develop mining both to maximise social benefits for Eritreans and avoid the so-called "resource curse" that has bedevilled other African nations.

Experts predict a boom for Eritrea -- believed to be rich in gold and industrial metals -- and half a dozen foreign firms explore in the Horn of Africa nation of 4.5 million people.

"The gold reserves in this country are not comparable to anywhere in the region -- Sudan, Ethiopia, anywhere else," Isaias told Reuters in a rare interview with Western media.

"The reserves and potential are there. It's huge."