L. Fituni, I. Abramova Resource Potential of Africa and Russia's ...

licenses. They are the only Russian company who are working offshore
at such depths. LUKoil also works in the Caspian Sea. Although
Russian continental shelves are not as deep as the West African
one, LUKoil is gathering very useful experience for future drilling
operations. 56
The Soviet Union’s assistance to the Republic of Benin in investigating
its natural resources included laboratory research of
samples of non-ferrous and rare metals-copper, lead, zinc, molybdenum,
cobalt, nickel, chromium, tungsten, niobium, lithium, etc. Soviet
specialists undertook geological prospecting and surveying
work for solid minerals in that country. They were helping to compile
the first geological map of Benin, which made it possible to
study further the republic’s natural resources.
Considerable aid in prospecting for minerals has been given to
the Republic of Mali. During the colonial period no geological investigations
had been conducted there. After the signing of an
agreement in 1961, an important aspect of Soviet-Malian cooperation
was Soviet assistance in geological surveying and studying
mineral resources in Mali.
The first stage of the investigations consisted in aero-magnetic
surveys over an area comprising about three-quarters of Mali's territory.
Geological prospecting for cement, combustible shales, iron
ore, gold, etc., has been carried out. As a result, in the Bafoulabe-
Kai regions in the southwest of Mali deposits of high quality limestone
have been discovered, estimated at 18.5 million tons, as well
as clays and silica, necessary as additions in the production of cement.
On the basis of these deposits Mali's first cement factory was
built in 1969. Prospecting for combustible shales in the Agamor-
Bourem-Islufen regions in the north-east of the country made it possible
to reveal their resources comprising, according to preliminary
estimates, up to 800 million tons.
An important stage in preparing conditions for the development
of a mineral and raw-material base in Mali has been the organization
in 1969 of the National Society for Prospecting and Exploitation of
Mineral Resources (SONARM) whose production and technical
foundation was created with Soviet help.
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