Extraction / Resources & Sovereignty
The Reform and Its Scope
Ivory Coast launched the e-cadastre minier Côte d’Ivoire platform on September 22, 2025. Ivorian Prime Minister Robert Beugré Mambé affirmed at the launch ceremony: “The e-cadastre minier Côte d’Ivoire portal is part of these reforms aiming to strengthen Ivory Coast’s mining attractiveness, ensure increased compliance with the requirements of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, and expedite the management of mining operations.”
The digital cadastre is one component of a broader regulatory overhaul that Abidjan has been advancing simultaneously. Ivory Coast is revising its mining code to support a wider range of minerals, including chromium, coltan, lithium, copper, cobalt and iron ore, complementing its existing base of 19 operating mines. The revised framework aims to strengthen legal clarity, embed local content requirements and improve negotiating leverage with international investors. The cabinet has already approved 11 new exploration permits in several regions of the country.
The mining code revision is accompanied by a downstream ambition. The government of Ivory Coast is advancing plans to establish a national gold refining company alongside a strengthened state gold-buying counter. The initiative seeks to capture downstream value from a sector where production has more than tripled, from 18 tons in 2013 to 58 tons in 2024, with authorities targeting 100 tons of annual output by 2030. Minister of Mines, Petroleum and Energy Seydou Coulibaly framed the strategy as a shift beyond raw-material exports toward greater control of the gold value chain.
What the Digital Cadastre Actually Changes
The practical significance of a digital mining cadastre is often underestimated. The public mining cadastre portal provides a spatial view into the mining cadastre data for Ivory Coast and is intended to improve stakeholder communications, reduce corruption and improve transparency in the mining sector.
For investors, the operational shift is direct. A digitalised cadastre means permit applications can be submitted online, permit status is publicly visible in real time, overlapping claims become immediately detectable, and the timeline from application to decision becomes measurable and accountable. In markets where permit delays and opacity are cited as primary constraints on investment decisions, this is not a cosmetic reform. It is a functional change in how risk is assessed.
Investor confidence is strengthened by a modern regulatory framework, including a digitalised mining cadastre, simplified permitting procedures, and dispute resolution mechanisms aligned with international standards. These reforms reduce regulatory risks and encourage local processing of minerals, promoting value addition and the development of a domestic industrial ecosystem.
The Investment Response
The market has already begun pricing in these reforms. With 19 operational mines and more than 2,000 billion FCFA in cumulative investment presented at the 2026 Investing in African Mining Indaba, Ivory Coast is solidifying its reputation as a top-tier mining destination. Recent developments include a planned $780 million investment by the Chinese mining group Huaxin Gold in 2026, aimed at developing new projects, expanding exploration activities, strengthening site security, and improving infrastructure.
According to the 2025 annual survey published by the Fraser Institute, Ivory Coast ranks fifth on the African continent as a mining investment destination, behind Botswana, Morocco, Zambia and Tanzania. The Fraser Institute ranking is a composite of geological attractiveness and policy environment. An improvement in the policy environment component, driven by the cadastre digitalisation and mining code revision, is likely to shift that ranking upward in the 2026 edition.
The broader African comparison reinforces the significance of the Ivorian moves. Burkina Faso, which adopted a revised mining code in 2024, increased gold production from roughly 57 to 94 tons in 2025, reinforcing investor confidence and its position as Africa’s fourth-largest gold producer. The causal link between regulatory reform and production growth is not automatic, but the correlation across multiple West African markets is consistent enough to inform investor positioning.
The Critical Minerals Dimension
The extension of the mining code to cover chromium, coltan, lithium, copper, cobalt and iron ore is the reform element that carries the longest strategic horizon. Ivory Coast’s geological base has historically been characterised as a gold and manganese story. The revised code signals that Abidjan is positioning the country as a critical minerals destination for battery supply chains and industrial inputs, not only a gold producer.
Beyond dematerialised mining cadastres, several African countries are working to digitise their entire mining datasets to facilitate access for mining investors. The DRC concluded an agreement with KoBold Metals to develop a system for managing and valuing its geological data. Zambia launched its first Geological Survey Department Digital Store in 2025, compiling decades of geological publications and datasets into a secure, accessible digital format. Ivory Coast’s e-cadastre fits within this continental movement toward data-driven mining governance.
For investors evaluating West African critical minerals positions, the combination of a digital cadastre, a broadened mining code and an active exploration programme creates a markedly different entry environment than existed three years ago. The reforms do not eliminate execution risk, permitting timelines or infrastructure constraints. They reduce the information asymmetry that has historically made Ivory Coast harder to assess than its geological potential warranted.