Guelb Moghrein Mine is operated by Mauritanian Copper Mines S.A which is a subsidiary of First Quantum Minerals Ltd in Canada. Guelb Moghrein is located 4km to the west of

Akjoujt Akjoujt (Arabic: أكجوجت) is a small city in western Mauritania. It is the capital of the Inchiri region. "Akjoujt" (ɑk'ʤuʤt) means 'wells'. The city's main industry is gold and copper mining. History Archeologists have discovered that ...

town in the Inchiri region of

Mauritania Mauritania, officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, is a sovereign country in Maghreb, Northwest Africa. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Western Sahara to Mauritania–Western Sahara border, the north and northwest, ...

. Commercial production began in October 2006 and the current estimated mine life is 7 years. Mining is carried out in a single

open pit Open-pit mining, also known as open-cast or open-cut mining and in larger contexts mega-mining, is a surface mining technique that extracts rock or minerals from the earth. Open-pit mines are used when deposits of commercially useful ore or ...

using hydraulic excavators and mechanical drive haul trucks, approximately 1,800,000 tons of

ore Ore is natural rock or sediment that contains one or more valuable minerals, typically including metals, concentrated above background levels, and that is economically viable to mine and process. The grade of ore refers to the concentration ...

are mined every month to produce approximately 15,000 tons of

copper Copper is a chemical element; it has symbol Cu (from Latin ) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkish-orang ...

concentrate per month at a grade of 23% copper with credits received for

gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

in the concentrate. In 2015 the Guelb Mine produced 45,001 tons of copper and 64,007 ounces of gold. The mine has been forced to temporarily suspend operations in 2012 and 2014 due to protests and strikes.

References

2016 establishments in Mauritania Copper mines in Mauritania Inchiri region Surface mines in Mauritania {{mine-stub