Rabat – Managem, a Moroccan mining company that specializes in precious metals, cobalt, and other minerals, announced on Thursday, August 15, that its turnover for the first half of 2019 has declined by MAD 300 million compared to July 2018.
Managem attributes the drop in net income to a significant decline in the prices of cobalt, zinc and copper.
“In an industry marked by uncertainties that continue to weigh on the world economy, metal prices saw a significant change at the end of June 2019, compared to the same period of the previous year,” said Managem in a statement.
The average price of cobalt, notably, is down 62%, and all companies in the mining sector have been affected by these changes, added Managem.
The company aims to mitigate these negative changes in the second half of 2019 by expanding its gold production capacity in Sudan. The company will also increase its silver production by 35%, and Cobalt production by 36%.
The company is also active in other countries including Cote D’Ivoire, Mali, Conakry, Gabon, Ethiopia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo,
“Managem, confident in the strength of its foundations and in the recovery of markets, will maintain its profitable growth prospects by deploying efforts to improve operational performances and by pursuing the implementation of its development program,” concluded Managem.
Managem has been subject to scandal recently, after speculation that the company was smuggling gold out of Sudan without authorization. In May 2018, the Sudanese Rapid Support Forces intercepted a Moroccan aircraft with an 84-kilogram haul of gold ingots belonging to Managem for an allegedly invalid license.
However, the incident was soon cleared up, and the confiscated gold was returned to the company. Managem said that Sudanese authorities “acknowledged our scrupulous compliance with regulatory procedures.”
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