Senegal
Senegal was estimated to be the world's seventh-ranked producer of ilmenite and zirconium mineral concentrates
Pictured: zirconium metal
Statistics and information on the mining industry in Senegal.
Overview
In 2024, Senegal was estimated to be the world's seventh-ranked producer of ilmenite and zirconium mineral concentrates, accounting for 3.4% and 4.0%, respectively, of global production. Senegal was also a salient world producer of phosphate rock phosphate rock, accounting for 1.2% of world production. Other mineral commodities produced in the country included cement and cement clinker, clays, gold, gravel, lead (refined), leucoxene, petroleum refinery products, phosphate rock, rutile, and silver (refined). In 2024, production of mineral commodities represented only a minor part of the economy of Senegal.
The legislative framework for the mineral sector in Senegal was regulated by the Mining Code (No. 27/2016) of 30 October 2016. The Ministry of Energy, Petroleum and Mines is the Government agency responsible for the oversight of the mining industry, including the attribution of mining concessions and negotiating mining agreements and contracts, with private interests. Most mineral commodities were produced by private companies, both domestic and international, but the Government has also had shared participation in some companies. The main producer of ilmenite in the country was Eramet Group of France, which owned the Grande Côte Mineral Sands (GCO) Mine. The Eramet GCO operation consisted of a coastal mobile dune system that stretches more than 100 kilometers (km) along Senegal’s coastline, about 50 km northeast of the capital city of Dakar.
In 2024, Senegal was the world's estimated seventh-ranked producer of ilmenite and zirconium mineral concentrates, accounting for 3.8% and 5.2%, respectively, of global production. Senegal was also a salient world producer of phosphate rock, accounting for 1.2% of word production. Other mineral commodities produced in the country included cement and cement clinker, clays, gold, gravel, lead (refined), leucoxene, petroleum refinery products, rutile and silver (refined). Data on mineral production are in the Production table (formerly table 1). In 2024, Production of mineral commodities represented only a minor part of the economy of Senegal (International Monetary Fund, 2025; Ewing, 2026; Jasinski, 2026; Johnston, 2026).
The legislative framework for the mineral sector in Senegal was regulated by the Mining Code (No. 27/2016) of 30 October 2016. The Ministry of Energy, Petroleum and Mines is the government agency responsible for the oversight of the mining industry, including the attribution of mining concessions and negotiating mining agreements and contracts with private interests. Most mineral commodities were produced by private companies, both domestic and international, but the Government had shared participation in some companies. The Facilities table (formerly table 2) is a list of major mineral industry facilities (Agence Nationale de la Statistique et de la Démographie, 2024, p. 2–4; International Monetary Fund, 2025). More-extensive coverage of Government policies and programs can be found in previous editions of this chapter in the U.S. Geological Survey Minerals Yearbook, volume III, Area Reports—International—Africa, which are available in the "Publications" section below.
Commodity Review
Titanium Minerals and Zirconium.—The main producer of ilmenite in the country was Eramet Group of France, which owned the Grande Côte Mineral Sands (GCO) Mine. The Eramet GCO operation consisted of a coastal mobile dune system that stretches more than 100 kilometers (km) along Senegal’s coastline, about 50 km northeast of the capital city of Dakar. In 2024, the GCO Mine produced 883,000 metric tons (t) of heavy mineral concentrates as defined by the company as composed of titanium ore and zircon concentrates, which the company stated was a 41% increase from the 628,000 t produced the previous year. The company stated that the content of titanium ore in the sands was higher than that in 2023 with a content of 570,000 t of titanium mineral concentrates and 68,000 t of zirconium mineral concentrates compared with 421,000 t and 48,000 t, respectively, in 2023. Eramet exports the concentrates to its facilities in Europe, and some of the countries where ultimately Eramet’s titanium and zircon products are exported, although not exclusively, are China, India, Japan, Mexico and the United States (Eramet, 2025a, p. 19; 2025b).
Phosphate Rock.—In September 2024, the Government announced a review of contracts that it held with foreign-owned mineral industry partners, including Industries Chimiques du Senegal (ICS), the largest phosphate fertilizer producer in Senegal. The Government stated that the review was intended to bring more benefits to the country from its mineral and energy industries; the process was ongoing as of the end of 2024 (Barron’s, 2026).
Production table
(Metric tons, gross weight, unless otherwise specified)
| Commodity | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cement, hydraulic | 7,000,000e | 7,500,000e | 8,000,000e | 9,000,000e | 9,000,000e |
| Fuller's earth, attapulgite | 190,000e | 170,000e | 150,000e | 190,000e | 190,000e |
| Gold, mine, Au content (kilograms) | 12,000e | 16,000e | 15,000 | 13,000 | 15,000 |
| Lead, refinery, secondary | 4,000e | 4,200e | 4,600e | 5,800e | 5,700e |
| Phosphate rock | 2,000,000e | 2,300,000e | 2,500,000e | 2,800,000e | 2,800,000e |
| Phosphate rock, P2O5 content | 684,000e | 800,000e | 860,000e | 940,000e | 950,000e |
| Phosphate, compounds, phosphoric acid, P2O5 content | 550,000e | 550,000e | 550,000e | 550,000e | 550,000e |
| Silver, refinery, primary, Ag content (kilograms) | 900e | 900e | 900e | 900e | 900e |
| Titanium, concentrates, ilmenite and leucoxene | 530,000e | 550,000e | 500,000e | 430,000e | 580,000e |
| Titanium, concentrates, rutile | 4,000e | 4,400e | 4,200e | 3,100e | 3,000e |
| Zirconium, concentrates | 60,000e | 64,000e | 57,000e | 48,000e | 68,000e |
References Cited
- Agence Nationale de la Statistique et de la Démographie, 2024, Les comptes nationaux trimestriels (4ème trimestre 2022) [Quarterly National Accounts (4th quarter 2022)] : Dakar, Senegal, Agence Nationale de la Statistique et de la Démographie, June 29, 24 p. (Accessed July 28, 2025, at https://www.ansd.sn/sites/default/files/2023-04/Note%20T4%202022_vf.pdf.) [In French]
- Barron’s, 2026, Senegal to take back assets of phosphate giant ICS: Barron’s, March 13. (Accessed May 21, 2026, at https://www.barrons.com/news/senegal-to-take-back-assets-of-phosphate-g….)
- Eramet Group, 2025a, 2025 Press release: Paris, France, Eramet Group, February 19, 32 p. (Accessed September 5, 2025, https://www.eramet.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/2025-19-02-Eramet-CP-….)
- Eramet Group, 2025b, Key CSR figures: Paris, France. Eramet Group, (Accessed August 30, 2025, https://gco.eramet.com/en/eramet-grande-cote/about-us/key-csr-figures/.)
- Ewing, S.M., 2026, Titanium mineral concentrates: U.S. Geological Survey Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026, p. 198–199.
- International Monetary Fund, 2025, Country data—Senegal: Washington, DC, International Monetary Fund. (Accessed August 18, 2025, at https://www.imf.org/en/Countries/SEN.)
- Jasinski, S.M., 2026, Phosphate rock: U.S. Geological Survey Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026, p. 142–143.
- Johnston, S.N., 2026, Zirconium and hafnium: U.S. Geological Survey Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026, p. 214–215.