• State miner SODEMI and China’s CGM create a new exploration company
• Joint venture launches first bauxite exploration project
• Côte d’Ivoire seeks to build a stronger mining pipeline

Côte d’Ivoire has announced the creation of the Ivoiro-Chinese Exploration Company, a new mining joint venture between the state-owned Société pour le Développement Minier de la Côte d’Ivoire and China National Geological & Mining Corporation.

The decision was approved during the cabinet meeting held on Wednesday, February 4. The new company, known as ICEX, is owned 56.65% by SODEMI and 43.35% by its Chinese partner.

The announcement comes days after ICEX launched its first bauxite exploration project in the West African country, a region where China is already well established, particularly through large-scale bauxite operations in Guinea.

According to the government note, ICEX is incorporated under Ivorian law with an initial share capital of CFA20 million, or about $36,000. The company will focus exclusively on mineral exploration activities in Côte d’Ivoire, without officially specifying the targeted minerals. However, a note published by CGM on January 20 in connection with the exploration campaign points to a strong interest in bauxite.

Available information suggests the project holds significant potential, with “resources estimated at several tens of millions of tons.” The exploration campaign follows several rounds of prospecting and detailed consultations conducted on the site. CGM said the initiative marks a key step in its expansion across the West African mining market and will draw on the “proven model used in Guinea for bauxite development.”

Guinea, the world’s leading bauxite producer, hosts several Chinese mining companies and is China’s main source of bauxite imports. The country accounted for 74% of Guinea’s bauxite exports in 2025, supplying Chinese refineries.

While the Ivorian project appears to be modeled on that experience, its success remains conditional on several key stages, starting with the discovery of an economically viable deposit. CGM has nonetheless positioned the initiative within a long-term development strategy.

The cooperation between the partners goes beyond initial exploration. China Geological & Mining West Africa, a CGM subsidiary, has also signed a special framework cooperation agreement granting it priority rights for subsequent phases, including exploration, feasibility studies, mine construction, production, and bauxite marketing. The arrangement aims to establish an integrated exploration-to-development and trading model.

Côte d’Ivoire’s bauxite sector remains modest in scale. Production reached 54,963 tons in 2023 and is currently driven by Lagune Exploitation Bongouanou, which exports its output to the Chinese market.

Aurel Sèdjro Houenou