Archive Category: News

The second training session of PanAfGeo-2 WP-B, dedicated to “Mineral Resources Assessment,” took place in Quelimane, Mozambique, from 19th to 29th June 2023. Attended by 20 participants from five African Portuguese-speaking countries, including Angola, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, Cabo Verde, and São Tomé & Principe, the event fostered collaborative efforts among PALOP nations. Co-organized by LNEG, Portugal, and Mozambique’s INAMI and DNGM, the training aimed to strengthen geological knowledge and sustainable mineral resource management in the region.

During the ten-day program, participants engaged in classroom-type sessions, field visits, and practical exercises focused on exploring the theme of lithium-rich pegmatites in the Alto Ligonha region. The training provided valuable insights into mineral exploration techniques, including the usage of portable XRF and gamma ray spectrometers for data interpretation. Discussions on circular economy principles and responsible production underscored the importance of conserving resources and protecting the environment. Additionally, the global market dynamics for raw materials and the impact of geopolitical events on mineral prices were explored. As the training concluded, certificates were awarded, and participants were encouraged to foster future cooperation in addressing the challenges posed by climate change and energy transition in African countries. The training’s success highlights the PanAfGeo-2 WP-B’s commitment to fostering sustainable mineral resource management across the PALOP community.

Click here to view/download the training session report.

The training session pictures are available here.

The PanAfGeo community convened in Brazzaville, Republic of Congo, for the mid-term meeting of the PanAfGeo-2 project. Held at the Grand Lancaster Hotel from May 15th to 16th, 2023, the meeting focused on reviewing project progress and engaging with stakeholders from the Organisation of African Geological Surveys (OAGS) and other organisations.

The opening ceremony on May 15th featured notable officials and representatives from EuroGeoSurveys (EGS) members, the European Union (EU), the Organisation of African Geological Surveys (OAGS) members and United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO). The opening speakers were: i) The representant of Mr. Dieudonné Bantsimba, The Mayor of the city of Brazzaville, ii) Mr. Jean-Claude Guillaneau, PanAfGeo-2 Coordinator, iii) Dr. Julie Hollis, EuroGeoSurveys Secretary-General, iv) Dr. Rokhaya Samba Diene, OAGS President, v) S.E.M. Giacomo Durazzo, Ambassador of the European Union in the Republic of Congo, vi) Mr. Guillaume Prevost, the representant of the Ambassador of France in the Republic of Congo, vii) Mme Fatoumata Barry Marega, UNESCO Resident Representative in the Republic of Congo, viii) S.E.M. Pierre Oba, State Minister, Minister of Mining Industries and Geology of the Republic of Congo.

Dr. Rokhaya Samba Diene led a session, titled “Go Further” on the future of the PanAfGeo-2 project. Speakers discussed perspectives and advice, including Mrs. Catherine Ghyoot from the European Commission DG-INTPA, Dr. Nicolas Charles and Mr. Jean-Claude Guillaneau, PanAfGeo-2 Coordination, and Pr. Félix Toteu, President of the PanAfGeo Advisory Board.

The General Assembly, held in the afternoon, presented the mid-term results for the eight work packages of the PanAfGeo project.

On May 16th, the Advisory Board, led by Prof. Félix Toteu, convened to discuss and provide recommendations for the project. Following the mid-term meeting, a governance workshop was held, focusing on strengthening the Geological Surveys of Africa. Led by Dr. J. Donker of Geological Survey of the Netherlands (TNO), responsible for Work Package F, the workshop was aimed at organisational strengthening, with a focus on data management as a thematic case study.

The meeting was officially closed by S.E.M. Pierre Oba, the State Minister and Minister of Mining Industries and Geology of the Republic of Congo. This mid-term meeting of PanAfGeo-2 showcased the progress made in Africa-EU geoscientific cooperation, fostering collaboration and knowledge exchange for a stronger Africa.

The mid-term meeting media coverage is available, here.

The mid-term meeting photographs are available, here.

Click here to download the press release: English (PDF) ; French (PDF).

The PanAfGeo project recently organized a training session on Geohazards and Environmental Management of Mines in Moanda, Gabon. The training, held from 27 March to 1 April 2023, was attended by 31 participants from 14 African countries. The training covered a range of important topics related to geohazards and environmental management in mining.

The training programme was coordinated by the WP-E leader Dr Jonas Satkunas and WP-E co-leader Dr Souleymane Diop, while Mrs Florence Tchoffo (Ministry of Mines, Industries and Technological Development, Republic of Cameroon) managed all logistic aspects. Mr Christian Boupassia, Director General Ecole des Mines et de la Metallurgie de Moanda (E3MG), undertook all logistical arrangements of the course and contributed with lectures and field guiding.

The training was performed in French and covered various topics such as slope stability measurements, geotechnical investigations, digital elevation modelling and aerial slope stability mapping. The trainees were satisfied with contents and materials of training, although some encountered logistical problems related to connection flights from Libreville to M‘Vengue and back.

The training also triggered a project to investigate the landslide of Mount Moanda, which aims to publish a scientific paper and demonstrate a pattern and model for aerial slope stability mapping applicable for Gabon. Further plans of technical cooperation between PanAfGeo WP-E team and E3MG were also discussed.

The training was of great interest to the School of Mine and Metallurgy in Moanda (E3MG) and the Ministry of Mines and Geology in Gabon. The PanAfGeo project is committed to improving geological knowledge and capacity building in Africa, and this training session is one of the many steps towards achieving this goal.

To read the full report of the training session (PDF), click here.

The PanAfGeo Project, in partnership with the Geological Survey of Cameroon, recently hosted a four-day workshop in Douala to promote knowledge sharing and best practices for artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) in Central, Eastern, and Northern Africa. The workshop, which took place from March 13th to 16th, brought together over 40 participants and co-trainers from 16 French-speaking countries.

During the workshop, each participating country delivered a presentation on ASM, while co-trainers provided expert presentations on important subjects related to the practice in Africa. The presentations were informative and insightful and will be used to develop the 3rd regional Handbook on ASM, which will be made available on the PanAfGeo website.

Attendees can access a soft copy of the handbook on the PanAfGeo website. The workshop was considered a great success, with attendees benefiting greatly from the expertise and knowledge shared. The initiative will go a long way in enhancing sustainable ASM practices in the region, while also improving the lives and livelihoods of those engaged in the sector.

The workshop was also featured on the PanAfGeo Flickr account, where pictures from the training session are available, click here.

Additionally, the PanAfGeo YouTube channel has videos from the WPC session of Philippe VAN DAMME (Head of the European Union Delegation in Yaoundé), along with interviews with attendees, providing further insights into the workshop’s proceedings. To view the preface of Philippe VAN DAMME, click here (PDF in French).

Overall, the workshop represents a significant step towards improving sustainable ASM practices in Central, Eastern, and Northern Africa, and promoting a better understanding of the sector’s importance in the region’s economic development.

The PanAfGeo community met in Cape Town during the course of the “Investing in African Mining” Indaba week and the activities were successfully concluded, along with the Communication, Dissemination and Dialogue (Work Package H) training session.

A booth for PanAfGeo and AfricaMaVal was located in the exhibition hall for the duration of the event. The booth provided valuable insights into the mining industry in Africa and showcased the potential for future collaborations and partnerships.

On the 7th of February, a bilateral meeting was held with EGS, the Organisation of African Geological Surveys (OAGS), the Council for Geoscience (CGS), the French Geological Survey (BRGM), the European Commission, and the EU Delegation to South Africa. The discussion centred on possible synergies with African projects, strategic partnerships, and future initiatives. EGS and OAGS Presidents, Mr Christophe Poinssot and Ms Rokhaya Samba Diene, were also present during the meeting.

On the 8th of February, a meeting was held with Commissioner H.E. Albert M. Muchanga, the Commissioner for Trade and Industry for the African Union Commission and his team, at the exhibition booth. The meeting presented the status of the PanAfGeo and AfricaMaVal projects, and future activities were discussed.

On the 9th of February, a discussion was held on the Governance (Work Package F) of PanAfGeo-2 with Mr Jasper Donker from the Geological Survey of the Netherlands (TNO) and BRGM.

On the 10th of February, a one-day communication training session was held, which provided valuable insights to the trainees through theory and practice on science communication. The training began with an opening session led by Ms Elisabetta Sartorel (Policy Officer, European Commission, DG INTPA), Ms Rokhaya Samba Diene (President, OAGS), Mr Mosa Mabuza (Chief Executive Officer, Council for Geoscience) and Jean-Claude Guillaneau (PanAfGeo-2 Coordinator, BRGM). The interactive training session empowered the trainees to apply their training to developing a suite of communication products. During the training session, the participants were asked to develop a communication product of their own related to their Geological Survey.

The PanAfGeo-2 Mining Indaba activities and WP-H Communication training session were a resounding success. The events provided valuable insights into the mining industry, potential partnerships, and collaborations in Africa.

Click here to view/download the press release (PDF).

Click here to watch the session recordings (YouTube Playlist).

The PanAfGeo2 project got featured in the Council for Geosciences (CGS) quarterly newsletter called GeoClips. A detailed overview of all the performed PanAfGeo-2 Project activities was highlighted in the newsletter.

To view/download the newsletter, click here.

PanAfGeo Project was highlighted at the conference on the current prospects of the economy of mineral resources held on November 16-18, 2022 in Rytro, Poland.

During the conference, the PanAfGeo Project was presented by Stanisław Wołkowicz, Paulina Kostrz-Sikora (Polish Geological Institute-National Research Institute), and Jonas Satkũnas (Geological Survey of Lithuania) under the title “The PanAfGeo Project as a platform for the development of bilateral/multilateral cooperation in the field of mineral resource management with African countries”.

The short abstract of the conference presentation (in Polish & English, pg.119-121). is available, here.

The Work Package (WPC), on the subject of Artisanal and Small Scale Mining Exploration (EMAPE), held its training session in English/Portuguese from 27 to 30 September in Maputo, Mozambique.

The training session has the participation of 16 delegations from English and Portuguese-speaking countries of the Southern Africa region, which are: Angola, Botswana, Cape Verde, Swatini, Zambia, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Lesotho, Liberia, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Sao Tome and Principe, Sierra Leone, South Africa and Zimbabwe. In addition to the aforementioned delegations, African specialists from Mozambique, Ghana and Zimbabwe, and also European specialists from Portugal, Denmark and Belgium.

This training by the various Geological Surveys of English and Portuguese-speaking countries in the Southern African region allowed for 4 days of exchange of experiences on the subject of artisanal and small-scale mining exploration (EMAPE). Each delegation had the opportunity to present the geographic and geological context in which the artisanal mines in their country are inserted while framing the sector of exploited substances, the applied legislation, the level of organization of the miners, the role of the Geological Services and also the environmental impacts, health and socio-economic issues related to the EMAPE sector of each country.

Additionally, experts from the artisanal mining sector were invited and were also able to contribute to this exchange of experiences. Therefore, the organization of an artisanal mining site, as well as health, environment and safety issues were addressed by Dr Dennis Shoko and Prof Salvador Mondlane from Zimbabwe and Mozambique respectively. Socio-economic impacts and the role of women in the artisanal mining sector were addressed by Executive Director Dr Iracema Maiópuè of the Woman’s Means of Life Association. The issue of conflict between EMAPE operators and criminal groups, as well as the benefits of formalizing the activity as a path to responsible mineral exploration, were presented by the International Peace Information Service (IPIS). The benefits of using Remote Sensing as a tool to monitor EMAPE sites and its support to the State were presented by Dr Abdul-Wadood Moomen of UENR in Ghana.

The handbook of Artisanal and Small-scale Mining for the Southern African Region (in Portuguese) is available here.

The scientific presentation (6 nos) of the training session is available here.

The pictures from the WP-C training session can be downloaded here.

The second training session of WP-G was held in São Tomé on 7-18 November 2022. As proposed in the Grant Agreement, the WP-G designed a session to be delivered 100% in Portuguese and take place on an island country for the first time in PanAfGeo. It brought together seventeen delegates from five African Portuguese-speaking countries, i.e. Angola, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, Cabo Verde and São Tomé & Principe, part of the PALOP (Países Africanos de Língua Oficial Portuguesa).

It was jointly organised by BRGM, France (Dr. Marc Urvois, WP-G leader), LNEG, Portugal (Mr. Alain Francès and Mr. Pedro Gonçalves, WP-G trainers), and DGRNE – General Directorate of Natural Resources and Energy, São Tomé & Principe (José Bastos Do Sacramento, Director General). Locally, Mrs. Ana Sofia Ten-Jua De Castro, Mr. Paulo Soares de Barros de Ceita (DGRNE) were also instrumental to the successful organisation of this session.

The ten-day training was organised as classroom-type sessions including lectures (<25%) and hands-on exercises (>75%) on the laptop computers provided by PanAfGeo to each trainee. At the end of the second week, each trainee had to prepare and present a Return-to-Work Plan as his/her active contribution to the WP-G capacity building process.

After the training certificates were formally handed over to each delegate, the concluding remarks were given by Mr. Alain Francès and Mr. Euclides Clemente Félix De Castro, Angola, spokesperson on behalf of the trainees. He highlighted the importance of having organised such a session dedicated to Portuguese-speaking African geoscientists and the difference it made to them having such a session provided fully in Portuguese, while most courses under the PanAfGeo project were so far limited to either English or French speakers.

The pictures of the training session is made available, here.

Click here to view/download the press release.

The Geohazards and environmental management of mines training session (in English) occurred in Blantyre, Malawi from 6 – 12 November 2022. The training had 26 participants from several African Countries. Additionally, the training session included 2 days of field exercises.

The training session kicked off on 7th November 2022, with a welcome speech from Joseph Mkandawire, the Principal Secretary in Malawi’s Ministry of Mining, and Mr Burnnet Msika, Director and Commissioner of Mines.

Following the field trip, a ‘field trip guide’ was prepared and disseminated to all the participants, click here.

The pictures of the WP-E training session are made available here.

Click to view/download the press release here.