(Bloomberg) -- Mali and Beijing Auxin Chemical Technology Ltd. have agreed to build a plant to manufacture explosives for civilian use, state broadcaster ORTM reported.
The plans are expected to give Mali better control over the civilian use of the devices used mostly in quarries and mines in Africa’s third-biggest gold producer, ORTM said, citing Wang Peng, a vice-president at Beijing Auxin.
A shareholders’ agreement signed between the two gives Mali 51% stake in the plant with the rest owned by the Chinese company, ORTM said. In addition to providing financing, Beijing Auxin will provide the expertise needed to build the unit, the state-broadcaster said, citing Minister of Economy and Finance Alousseni Sanou.
The plant to be completed in 12 months comes at a time Mali has seen an increase in militant attacks linked to al-Qaeda and Islamic State.
In September, unidentified assailants attacked the capital, Bamako, targeting a military training camp and the airport area, the worst attack in the West African country since a raid on an upmarket hotel in the city in 2015.
Mali has been under military rule since 2020, when General Assimi Goita ousted the West African nation’s elected president, citing the previous regime’s failure to repel the Islamist insurgents.
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