Mali Government Sets Aside Funds to Boost Natural Resources

Mali’s government said it will spend more than 35.6 billion CFA francs ($71 million) to aid the development of its natural resources.

The funds will be used to diversify mining research, promote exploration for petroleum products, develop human resources, improve governance in the mining and petroleum sector and upgrade infrastructure for geoscientists, the government said in a statement yesterday in Bamako, the capital.

Mali, which vies with Tanzania to be Africa’s third-biggest gold producer, produces an average of 50 metric tons of the metal annually, which accounts for 5.6 percent of the country’s gross domestic product, according to the statement.

Over-reliance on a single resource may leave Mali’s economy vulnerable, it said.

To contact the reporter one this story: Diakaridia Dembele in Bamako via Accra at ebowers1@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Antony Sguazzin at asguazzin@bloomberg.net.