Africa is seeing 'gold rush' for metals

Boart Longyear, the largest provider of mineral drilling services, said metals exploration is surging in Africa as mining companies search for new deposits to meet rising demand.

Producers are looking for all types of metals in nations including the Republic of Congo, Zambia and Ghana, Paul Brunner, chief executive officer of Sydney-based Boart Longyear, said in a phone interview today.

Mining companies committed to a record $34.7 billion of projects in Africa last year, a gain of almost 61 per cent from 2005, according to the Stockholm-based Raw Materials Group. Rio Tinto Group yesterday said the poorest continent may become the next growth region in 20 years and sustain the commodities rally.

"It's a rush, and people are likening it to a gold rush," said Brunner. "It's a very exciting place to be at despite the political problems. People are spending a lot of money looking around. I'll say we're still in pretty early days."

Sub-Saharan Africa, where per-capita income is less than a 70th of the US, is the source of most of the world's gold, platinum, bauxite and manganese. Rio yesterday said Guinea, Angola, Mali, Senegal, and Algeria are also countries which could yield promising minerals deposits.