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How do I invest in mines in Africa?
- Thread starter Offshr
- Start date
As in standing up a company with physical operations? Or investing in shares of existing companies? Both are fool’s errands in my opinion.
First find a very very deep hole where you cannot see the bottom but you know that at the very bottom there is volcanic lava. Secondly turn all your fiat to paper money ( cash) . Then throw them in batches into the deep hole ( the speed of throwing you can decide yourself). Once you are sure that all the money reached the bottom, know that your investment has been completed. you can now go back home and get some good sleep in because you ll have to go to work the next day.
Investing in mining is quite difficult operation especially if you are not on site.
Usually it works like this (Sierra Leone):
- find a land
- negotiate with land owner
- find mining team
- start mining
Payment :
- Land owner gets paid only if you have sthg if is found then you buy the stone from him minus all your expenses so price vary from 100$ to 500$ for the stone.
- Mining team : paid on commission if they find sthg you give them as well a % but you must provide them food
- cover expenses of machinery (excavator, gasoline,….)
PS : this is roughly how small scale mining works in west Africa.
Usually it works like this (Sierra Leone):
- find a land
- negotiate with land owner
- find mining team
- start mining
Payment :
- Land owner gets paid only if you have sthg if is found then you buy the stone from him minus all your expenses so price vary from 100$ to 500$ for the stone.
- Mining team : paid on commission if they find sthg you give them as well a % but you must provide them food
- cover expenses of machinery (excavator, gasoline,….)
PS : this is roughly how small scale mining works in west Africa.
What is the typical return on investment for a small-scale mine there? At what point are government payments for facilitating various things required?
The only people I saw mining there are either Libanese or Locals.
I have visited several gold and diamond mines and it was difficult to understand the return on investment as they didn’t want to give any numbers.
What is worth to do before mining is just to open a buying office in the region of Kono.
The strategy is:
- you don’t invest in any mine you just rent a small office and wait miners to come to you once they found sthg.
- once they come to you, you can buy from them directly stones at good price before they reach FREETOWN (the capital)
- exemple an 8ct rough diamond can be baught 1000$-2000$/ct depending on the color and quality
- the same stone arrive in FreeTown +1000$
- same stone in Antwerp maybe around 5k $
Those prices given to you are roughly and may vary according to 4C.
Answer your question:
- DEALER license is needed to trade inside the country
- export license is needed as well to export abroad
Let me attach you some pictures of my trip there
I have visited several gold and diamond mines and it was difficult to understand the return on investment as they didn’t want to give any numbers.
What is worth to do before mining is just to open a buying office in the region of Kono.
The strategy is:
- you don’t invest in any mine you just rent a small office and wait miners to come to you once they found sthg.
- once they come to you, you can buy from them directly stones at good price before they reach FREETOWN (the capital)
- exemple an 8ct rough diamond can be baught 1000$-2000$/ct depending on the color and quality
- the same stone arrive in FreeTown +1000$
- same stone in Antwerp maybe around 5k $
Those prices given to you are roughly and may vary according to 4C.
Answer your question:
- DEALER license is needed to trade inside the country
- export license is needed as well to export abroad
Let me attach you some pictures of my trip there
Attachments
Fascinating information. What is the process of getting a dealer’s license and export license locally? How is a sufficient KPC obtained for EU import?
Easy I will talk about Sierra Leone because it’s the only country where I have been personally and done everything on my own.
In FreeTown you go to an office called NMA (you can check their website) in this office you can buy all licenses you need:
- dealer
- mining
- export
Price and time of delivery may vary according to how much little extra you willing to give for their coffee
️ break ))
Concerning KPC very important to know is they don’t deliver it if the value of your stones is less than 40k $.
So you can’t go there with little rough diamond worth 5k and export it.
Basically you go to their office with your package it goes to a special office where they will evaluate your items then you have to pay a small export fees. They deliver your package at the airport and you pick it up sealed over there.
I highly recommend work with someone already in the industry over there.
Because many cases happened where they cheat you.
In FreeTown you go to an office called NMA (you can check their website) in this office you can buy all licenses you need:
- dealer
- mining
- export
Price and time of delivery may vary according to how much little extra you willing to give for their coffee
️ break ))Concerning KPC very important to know is they don’t deliver it if the value of your stones is less than 40k $.
So you can’t go there with little rough diamond worth 5k and export it.
Basically you go to their office with your package it goes to a special office where they will evaluate your items then you have to pay a small export fees. They deliver your package at the airport and you pick it up sealed over there.
I highly recommend work with someone already in the industry over there.
Because many cases happened where they cheat you.
Attachments
Interesting topic, investing in mining operations in Africa can be incredibly lucrative but also complex due to legal, political, and logistical factors.
From what I’ve read, the approach often depends on whether you're aiming for direct ownership in a mining operation (e.g. equity stake, JV agreements) or a more passive role via royalties or structured finance.
Countries like Ghana, Namibia, and Botswana tend to be more investor friendly, while others may require local partnerships or deal with shifting regulatory environments.
One key thing to look into is how mineral rights are granted and enforced, some countries operate under a license based system, while others require government approval or local participation.
Due diligence on both the asset and the political risk is essential.
Would be great to hear from anyone who’s gone through this especially what kind of structure they used (offshore company, local entity, etc.) and how they handled payments and compliance.
From what I’ve read, the approach often depends on whether you're aiming for direct ownership in a mining operation (e.g. equity stake, JV agreements) or a more passive role via royalties or structured finance.
Countries like Ghana, Namibia, and Botswana tend to be more investor friendly, while others may require local partnerships or deal with shifting regulatory environments.
One key thing to look into is how mineral rights are granted and enforced, some countries operate under a license based system, while others require government approval or local participation.
Due diligence on both the asset and the political risk is essential.
Would be great to hear from anyone who’s gone through this especially what kind of structure they used (offshore company, local entity, etc.) and how they handled payments and compliance.
Artisanal mining can start with low budget as low as 20k. That would cover your operation for 1-3 months
Most expensive will be the rent of excavator and daily benzine to run the machine.
Labor is very cheap over there.
Everything depends on the mining you plan but there are lot of diffrent issues based on the location you are in like license,local miners going to digg in your mine,laws like you are only allowed to sell your gold to the government directly etc etc.
Giving advice without knowing the location and the type of operations is not possible as the diffrences are massive
I recommend to not listen to these kind of crap
Also noone mentioned the exploration cost which high probably will be your cost factor #1
Giving advice without knowing the location and the type of operations is not possible as the diffrences are massive
Says somebody who has no clue about mining.
I recommend to not listen to these kind of crap
Also noone mentioned the exploration cost which high probably will be your cost factor #1
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