BHP Plans Manganese Mine in Gabon, Government Adviser Says

Jun. 1 -- BHP Billiton Ltd. (BHP), the biggest manganese ore supplier, is studying an operation that may produce 300,000 metric tons of the material a year in Gabon, an adviser to the West African country’s government said.

Melbourne-based BHP, the largest mining company, is considering developing deposits of the steel-making ingredient in an area about 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) from the south- eastern town of Franceville, said Maurice Ndziba, an adviser to Gabon’s mines minister.

The resource could support mining for as long as 50 years and help Gabon meet its target of overtaking South Africa to become the world’s largest manganese producer, Ndziba said in an interview yesterday in the capital, Libreville.

BHP is undertaking a feasibility study at the project, Ruban Yogarajah, a London-based spokesman for company, said today, declining to comment further.

The Franceville exploration rights were formerly held by Brazil’s Vale SA, Ndziba said.

Eramet (ERA) SA and the Gabonese government operate the Comilog manganese mine at Moanda, in the nation’s south-eastern region. The venture expects to produce 3.6 million tons of ore this year, the company said in an e-mailed statement in February. That makes Eramet the world’s second-biggest producer of high- grade manganese ore, it said.