For decades, Africa’s mineral wealth has flowed outward, enriching distant economies while leaving local communities with crumbling infrastructure, weak public services, and a lingering sense of economic exclusion. Gabon is now rewriting this narrative by channeling a portion of its mining revenue directly into local development.

The shift is most visible in the agreement between the Gabonese government and Comilog, a subsidiary of the French group Eramet and the world’s leading producer of high-grade manganese. Under the revised terms, 20% of the proportional mining royalty is now allocated to the Local Communities Development Fund. An additional share, derived from extraction taxes on active quarry sites, further boosts the financial pool available to mining regions.

This marks a fundamental departure from Gabon’s traditional mining doctrine. The focus is no longer solely on fiscal revenue or export volumes but on using natural resources to drive territorial cohesion and human development.

Breaking the resource curse

For generations, resource-rich regions across Africa have remained among the continent’s poorest. Gabon, the world’s second-largest manganese producer, has long grappled with this paradox. Mining zones have borne the brunt of environmental and social costs without receiving proportional benefits from the minerals extracted beneath their soil.

The turning point came with the 2019 Mining Code reform, later reinforced by a 2020 amendment to the Comilog agreement. For the first time, a fixed portion of mining revenue is automatically directed to affected communities, bypassing the uncertainties of national budgetary decisions.

This model aligns Gabon with progressive approaches seen in countries like Botswana and Canada, where social acceptance of mining hinges on equitable benefit-sharing.

A shared governance model

The system is built on a tripartite governance structure involving the state, local authorities, and the mining operator. The Partnership Management Committee sets strategic priorities, while the Operational Management Committee oversees execution and technical oversight. This structure ensures that investments reflect local realities rather than being dictated from distant administrative centers.

Funds are directed toward public infrastructure, collective facilities, healthcare centers, schools, water access, local economic initiatives, and job creation. Early results are promising. By 2025, Comilog reported 26 community projects completed, totaling nearly 8.5 billion CFA francs in investments and benefiting around 240,000 residents in mining regions. In a nation of fewer than three million people, these figures underscore the transformative potential of the initiative.

Pioneering a new African mining compact

The stakes extend far beyond Gabon’s borders. Global demand for critical minerals is surging, driven by the energy transition, electric mobility, and digital innovation. Manganese is now a cornerstone for battery production and next-generation industrial technologies.

Central Africa holds vast reserves of these minerals—reserves that could shape the global economy of tomorrow. The real question is no longer how much to export, but how much of this wealth can remain to fund education, healthcare, infrastructure, and economic diversification.

Comilog has committed to supporting this transition through entrepreneurship, vocational training, and income-generating activities, aiming to reduce the region’s reliance on extractive industries alone. If sustained, Gabon could emerge as a leading example of a new social contract between mining, the state, and local populations.

In the 21st century, the true value of a mine is measured not only in tons shipped or dividends paid, but in the schools built, businesses launched, jobs created, and opportunities offered to future generations. It is on this foundation that the legitimacy of Africa’s major mining powers will ultimately be judged.