Segele gold mine in Ethiopia inaugurated
Akobo Minerals has officially opened its Segele gold mine in Ethiopia, marking a significant milestone in the country’s growing mining sector. The inauguration ceremony, was attended by Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, who lauded the mine as a testament to Ethiopia’s potential in mining and the value of international partnerships.
The ceremony included the symbolic pouring of 6.5 kilograms of gold, highlighting the high-grade quality of Segele’s ore. Previously, Akobo smelted a 1.4-kg gold bar from 170 tonnes of lower-grade material with an average grade of 8 grams per tonne.
Potential in the mining sector
The Segele mine is expected to contribute to Ethiopia’s GDP while providing local community benefits, including; job creation, infrastructure development and adherence to sustainable and environmentally responsible practices.
Jørgen Evjen, CEO of Akobo Minerals, described the opening as a “defining moment” for the company, emphasizing years of dedication and international collaboration as key to unlocking Ethiopia’s mineral wealth.
“The Segele mine is a testament to Ethiopia’s vast potential in the mining sector and the importance of international partnerships to realize this potential. We are proud to see this project reach a significant milestone, benefiting not only the national economy but also the communities around it,” said Ahmed.
The history of Akobo Minerals in Ethiopia is a little over a decade old, beginning when the company was granted its first exploration license – which has since been renewed yearly and also converted into a mining license for part of the exploration license area. However, the history of gold mining in the region stretches back over more than three millennia, when gold was excavated and transported to Egypt for the benefit of the pharaohs. Since that time gold mining activity in Ethiopia has waxed and waned, but until Akobo Minerals arrived, mining in the region was only undertaken by local individual artisans, numbering around 25,000, digging for gold using rudimentary tools.
