Mali takes majority control of civil explosives producer

The Malian government has announced that it is taking majority control of a new company dedicated to producing civil-use explosives inside the country.

Following a recent cabinet meeting at the Koulouba Palace, authorities approved the state’s 51 percent stake in the “Société Industrielle du Centre du Mali FARATCHI-CO-SA,” created in partnership with the Chinese firm Auxin under a shareholder pact signed in November 2024.

The project aims to reduce Mali's dependence on imports and secure supplies for the mining sector, quarries and major civil engineering works, while tightening oversight of these sensitive products.

Since 2022, Bamako has toughened regulations on explosives amid the fight against terrorism and the spread of improvised explosive devices. Companies now face stricter rules on prior authorisation, traceability, storage, transport and stock monitoring.

Trade data show Mali imported about 5.2 million dollars’ worth of explosives and pyrotechnic products in the second quarter of 2023, mainly for authorised industrial use.

No official figures have yet been released on the plant’s production capacity or when it will come on stream, but the move fits into wider mining reforms and a new mining code designed to boost state participation and local economic benefits.