Eramet Grande Cote floating Wet Concentration Plant in the Lompoul desert. The ‘world’s biggest mining dredger’ has swallowed up acre after acre of the fertile coastal strip where most of Senegal’s vegetables are grown. The ragged 23km scar it has left after harvesting zircon – which is used in ceramics – is so large, it is visible from space. The gigantic rig sucks up thousands of tonnes of mineral sands an hour, moving forward on an artificial lake created with water it pumps from deep underground. — AFP
LIKE something from the sci-fi epic Dune, the world’s largest mining dredger is devouring Senegal’s coastal farmland, displacing thousands and carving a 23km scar so vast it’s visible from space.
The rig, operated by French mining giant Eramet, sucks up thousands of tonnes of mineral sands per hour, leaving an artificial lake in its wake.
Now, it’s tearing through the Lompoul dunes – a tourist hotspot famed for its golden sands and camel caravans – sparking outrage from farmers, hoteliers and environmentalists.
For a decade, Eramet has mined zircon and titanium minerals in Lompoul under a government concession.
It claims operations are above board, compensation is generous, and that mining benefits Senegal’s economy.
But locals, including Gora Gaye, mayor of Diokoul Diawrigne, tell a different story.
“The project has brought despair and disillusion,” Gaye said, accusing Eramet of ignoring community protests and displacing entire villages with little regard for their future.
Initially, villagers hoped for economic opportunities.
“All we got were broken promises, intimidation, the destruction of our ecosystem and a catastrophic relocation,” Gaye said.
Tourism operators are now joining farmers in demanding a mining moratorium, and Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye has pledged to increase oversight of mining’s social and environmental impact.
Eramet’s Senegalese subsidiary, EGC, insists it has provided new homes for displaced families and paid out up to €15,240 per hectare – five times the national guideline.
A resident showing dirty water coming from one of the water points in the village of Foth, Senegal. The village of Foth was built by Eramet Grande Cote to resettle families that were affected by the mine’s activities. — AFP
But at Foth, one of the new resettlement sites, displaced farmer Omar Keita is fuming.
“We want our land back. We want our village rebuilt,” said Keita, 32, who now lives in a single borrowed room with his wife and children.
“Before, I had my fields and my house. Now I have to work in other people’s fields.”
EGC’s managing director, Frederic Zanklan, counters that “every family was rehoused based on original household sizes.”
But Keita says the scheme fails to account for the loss of generational land, economic independence and community bonds.
Another farmer, Ibrahima Ba, 60, lamented the devastation of once-fertile land.
“We had fresh water, fertile soil, and no problems. Now we have nothing,” he said, calling on the government to intervene.
Mining has drastically altered the region’s hydrology.
Eramet pumps vast quantities of water from 450m underground to sustain its artificial lake, claiming this aids vegetable growers.
But farmer Serigne Mar Sow points to stagnant pools in barren fields as proof of harm.
“The land is no longer fertile. Our bananas and vegetables are dead,” he said. “Fifteen to 20 fields have been abandoned because of rising water levels.”
EGC denies using chemicals, insisting extraction is purely mechanical. Yet locals believe their once-thriving fields are poisoned.
The company argues that it contributes to Senegal’s economy, paying €25mil in taxes and dividends on a €215mil turnover last year.
The mine employs nearly 2,000 people, 97% of whom are Senegalese, and EGC claims to have restored mined land with trees.
But critics say the land isn’t returned to displaced farmers, but to the state, breaking earlier promises.
“They said we’d get our land back, but they lied,” Ba said.
Gaye has called for an immediate halt to mining.
“We need serious studies on the damage. We can’t close our eyes to this.”
But Zanklan rejects any pause, warning it would mean “2,000 job losses and a major economic hit to Senegal”.
Instead, Eramet plans to increase the dredger’s capacity by 20% by 2026.
As the fight over Senegal’s dunes rages on, the monstrous rig keeps moving, carving through the Lompoul desert and consuming sand at an unstoppable pace. — AFP
