Al Hilal Gold Mining opened a gold detector assembly plant near Gofa Square in Addis Ababa on Aug. 5, 2019, aiming to sell the devices to small-scale miners in Ethiopia and East Africa.
A U.S. intelligence map of gold deposits in Ethiopia and Eritrea, dated 1946 (Central Intelligence Agency via DPLA / Wikimedia Commons, public domain) [file photo]
Ethiopia's Ministry of Mines and Petroleum said local assembly would “ease the burden on gold mining activities” by giving artisanal miners affordable modern detectors, 2merkato and New Business Ethiopia reported. The company also planned to export to neighboring East African countries.
Artisanal miners produced 582.84 kilograms of gold in the fiscal year that ended July 7, 2019, earning about $20.6 million in exports, $11.6 million less than a year earlier, according to the ministry's annual report cited by New Business Ethiopia.
Companies engaged in gold mining exported 270.3 kilograms worth $8.66 million, far short of a $304 million target and about $66 million below the previous year's earnings. The report listed political instability in parts of the country and contraband trade among the reasons for the decline.
Sources: 2merkato, New Business Ethiopia