West Africa Mining Report Q1 2013

West Africa's mining sector is set to grow rapidly as investment pours into the region's phenomenalmineral wealth. Much of this growth will be focused on iron ore and gold as the region has untapped andhigh-grade reserves of both metals. We expect the bulk of the growth in the mining sector to be towardsthe end of the forecast period as many of the projects are still in their early stages of development.We expect West Africa, particularly Sierra Leone and Guinea to exhibit some of the fastest rates ofgrowth in iron ore production over the coming years which will make both countries major globalexporters by 2016. Elsewhere we see strong growth in gold production in Ghana, Côte d'Ivoire, Mali andBurkina Faso as elevated prices and an improved business climate attract investment.

The key risks to this bullish outlook are the region's perennially weak infrastructure with power suppliesand road and rail routes struggling with current demands, let alone the rapid growth we forecast.Furthermore we expect governments to increasingly see their mining sectors as 'cash cows' and will seekto raise revenues from their mining sectors, and we highlight Guinea and Mali as most at risk from highertaxes and greater government intervention.