France, July 22 -- The Eramet group announced on Monday that it had signed a memorandum of understanding with the Gabonese government during President Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema's state visit to France.

The agreement sets out a joint industrial roadmap under which Eramet would examine investments allowing up to 700,000 tonnes of manganese ore to be processed locally each year by 2031.

In return, Gabon has undertaken to provide the conditions needed to make the projects economically viable, including reliable access to energy.

The memorandum marks an important step in Gabon's drive to retain more of the value generated by its mineral wealth. The country is one of the world's leading manganese producers and has made local processing a ...