Though Mauritania only produces about one percent of the world’s iron, the iron mining industry — controlled by a state-owned organization called la Société Nationale Industrielle et Minière — is Mauritania’s largest industrial activity and provides a significant amount of the revenue for the country and for families in mining regions. However, as the industry of mining has become more technologically advanced on a global scale, Mauritania has struggled to maintain its relevance due to the lack of equipment manufacturers and technological advances available in North Africa. Due to this, many mining families struggle to make a good living. Most of the mining activity in the country is done on a small-scale by individual miners using outdated equipment, which results in environmental degradation and is largely unsafe and inefficient. The impacts that this has on health and safety make it a concern for Mauritanian officials who want to facilitate secure family development and help small miners compete on the world scale.
The vast majority of mining development takes place in North America, Japan, Australia, and South Africa and usually consists of adapting technologies made for other purposes, such as producing advanced radio and GPS systems. However, in the past several years, Mauritania’s mining capabilities have increased due to a joint venture between la Société Nationale Industrielle et Minière and Sphere Investments. A group of engineers has been hired to develop plants for mining iron pellets and to provide modern technologies that will aid in the efficiency of collecting iron ore pellets and producing steel.
Another large-scale mining improvement has been made through The World Bank, which funded a new program called the Project for Institutional Reform of the Mining Sector (PRISM). This initiative has given miners the access to a new technological advancement called the Geographical Information System (SIGM) which allows for more accurate identification of mining deposits underground. These technologies are currently being used in three mining projects in Mauritania and are bringing the country’s industry into the modernized realm of iron mining.
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