He is one of the manias in the Malian gold sector, Ismael Siby, the child of Djoliba, trained in Hong Kong, is the promoter of the gold refinery Marena Gold, the first gold refinery with 100% Malian capital. Ismael Siby was interviewed exclusively by Financial Afrik. Read
Mr. CEO, how is Marena Gold doing and how is the gold sector doing in Mali?
First of all, I would like to thank you for this opportunity to express myself for the very first time in the columns of Financial Afrik, a regional and pan-African reference newspaper. Your faith in regional and continental integration must be commended and encouraged to its fullest extent.
Then, to answer your question, it is important to point out that MARENA GOLD is a relatively young company, existing for a decade, but which has great ambitions, both locally and internationally. In spite of the setbacks that have marked our development – I want to name the crisis that our country is going through, the international sanctions against Mali that limit our field of action and prospecting, not to mention the galloping insecurity linked to terrorism that does not encourage certain partnerships, resulting in a relatively important loss of earnings – we have been able to pull our weight, by emerging as one of the most resilient and dynamic Malian companies, thanks in particular to the quality of our human capital, which is based on a proven collective intelligence, but also thanks to our lucid and well-directed choices, resulting from our experiences in the gold and precious metals sector.
We can today state without ambiguity that Marena Gold is in a profitability dynamic in its capacity as the only operational gold refinery in Mali, with quality installations, up to our ambitions, we are today able to ensure large production capacities.
Finally, to conclude on this aspect of your question, it should be remembered that in ten years of existence, including seven years of full operation, Marena Gold has an average (in volume) of annual production of about 6,000 kg of refined gold, for an annual capacity of 28 tonnes. These very impressive performances explain the confidence of our local and international partners, who are convinced by the quality of our product, which meets the highest world standards, and reflect the resilience of our business model, which aims to enable Mali to transform its gold into a finished product on the spot. They also give meaning to the interesting business prospects open to our company, particularly in the sub-regional mining industry.
They say that you, Ismaël Siby, are the Malian who stands up to the multinationals in the gold sector in Mali. How do you respond?
First of all, I would like to stress that Mali, with its million square kilometres of surface area, is immensely rich in minerals, which can be seen throughout the country. As such, it is a fertile ground for business development and naturally attracts the appetite of international investors who are very welcome. I would remind you that Mali is at the crossroads leading to its economic emergence, and must open up to foreign capital, which through its direct investments, ensures a transfer of technology that favours the catching up of our economies in terms of development, but also encourages healthy competition on the domestic market for the exclusive benefit of our populations.
Furthermore, it would be presumptuous of me to believe that I can stand up to the multinationals operating in the mining sector in Mali. No, that is not my ambition. Having been trained and served for more than 20 years in South East Asia – in this case Hong Kong – I cannot question the benefits of free market forces, which are the very essence of the breeding of talent, and therefore of innovation and competition for economic development.
In short, multinationals have their place in our countries, as long as they respect the rules governing their intervention in our space.
As for us at Maréna Gold, our model is production and transformation through the creation of added value for the benefit of our fellow citizens.
And we hope that in the long run, our governments will be inspired by models that oblige multinationals to transform part of their production before exporting it; this is what we are asking for.
In short, it should not be inferred that MARENA GOLD is in latent conflict with the multinationals operating in the extractive sector in Mali. This is not the case.
According to our information, you have been working in the gold mining sector for almost 10 years now. Can you briefly tell us about the different stages that led you to set up a gold refinery in Mali?
In fact, my experience in the field of both exploitation and marketing predates the creation and installation of MARENA GOLD in Mali. Indeed, during my years in Asia, I met investors who wanted to develop activities in Africa.
I had the privilege to accompany them through their prospecting and establishment activities on the continent, and had the opportunity to gauge the immense potential of the African continent in the extractive sector in general and gold in particular.
This observation aroused my interest in this sector of activity, and naturally my choice of investment fell on Mali, my country, which offered, in my opinion, better guarantees of profitability since the business environment was not unknown to us, and also because it abounds in a gold potential that only Ghana could challenge in the sub-region.
As soon as I became aware of the potential of my country, in a sector that I already mastered, and like our fellow citizens from the Diaspora, I started to organise my return to the country, with a precise idea of the business model and the mechanisms to be put in place to ensure the launch and the sustainability of MARENA GOLD.
2 billion CFA francs is what you invested to create Marena Gold Mali, the first gold refinery in a country that is the third largest producer of this precious metal on the continent. What management strategy are you developing with regard to production capacity in order to position yourself on the market for future prospects?
As mentioned earlier, Ismael Siby is the visible face of the iceberg in his capacity as Founder and Managing Director of Maréna Gold. It is true that we are very involved in the quality of the work that is done, given the youth of Maréna Gold and the strong ambitions that it carries. In this, we define the strategy and the direction we want to give to the business. We also rely on the expertise and dedication of a young and dynamic, but above all multidisciplinary, team that is well versed in the issues related to the gold sector. Our teams are permanently mobilised to offer a quality service for the benefit of our clients.
Of course, we will continue to support them through training to upgrade their skills in order to better ensure our resilience in the face of the challenges that lie ahead.
Does the company have external partners on its board of directors or is it just 100% Malian capital?
Yes, we are a company under Malian law, with a board of directors. The shareholding is exclusively made up of Malian capital.
Do you have an industrially operated mine or do you work with the various cooperatives that operate artisanal deposits?
We have set up a gold collection network consisting of cooperatives of gold miners operating in various local mines. We then set up a collection centre where these gold miners, who do not have access to the international market, give us their raw gold, which we refine and then sell on the international market. This being the case, with the agreement we have just signed with the National Directorate of Geology and Mines (DNGM) under the direction of the Ministry of Mines, Energy and Water. We have designed an ambitious programme for the expansion of small mines throughout Mali, which is currently being implemented. And we are counting on the effective creation of three (3) mines per year. In this programme, an investment is dedicated to the professionalisation of the artisanal sector, with continuous training, etc.
You sell about 2 tons of pure gold every year, you are the largest gold refiner in West Africa. As such, you have received several awards and distinctions for your pan-African commitment to the Valorisation and Promotion of the Development of Gold in Mali. How do you feel today when you see how far you have come to get there?
We thank Allah for having directed us to this business opportunity that is gold. We also thank all those – there are many of them, including in the national administration – who have helped us over the years to reach this level of development that is appreciated by all.
You are an actor in the sector, and we cannot continue this interview without asking you about the thorny issue of scams and fraud in the gold sector in the sub-region, where Mali is also presented as a platform. As an actor, what strategy are you putting in place to combat this gangrene that tarnishes the image of the gold sector?
This is the essence of our approach since our arrival in the sector, to help the Malian state to carry out structural reforms in the gold and mining value chain in general. Because that is what it is all about: from exploitation to export, the absence of optimal regulation of the sector is noticeable and constitutes fiscal losses for our economies. Indeed, one can speak of the existence of fraud or even scams in the sector. On the other hand, there are also – unfortunately – unsuspecting buyers who tend to believe that gold can be traded like a manufactured product. And these people, by trying to obtain prices well below world prices – from certain non-professional – not to say dubious – players, are very often defrauded. That’s the whole story.
And that’s where Marena Gold comes in, offering a one-stop shop for buyers to secure transactions with the Marena Gold seal – whose good reputation both nationally and internationally is beyond dispute. By guaranteeing the export of their gold to its final destination – in partnership with renowned companies in the international logistics sector such as Brinks; Temis or Ferrari: Therefore, we invite buyers to be more vigilant – always carrying out the necessary checks including with our competent authorities; beforehand…
In conclusion, what message do you have for professionals in the gold sector and foreign investors?
My final words will be an appeal for peace and the reconstruction of Mali, which will be our guarantee of a favourable business climate and a reorientation of foreign direct investment in our economies, which could boost our level of industrialisation. The latter should, of course, in the case of the mining sector and gold in particular, constitute real levers of development by ensuring the creation of wealth for the benefit of Mali and Malians.
We also call on local actors to pool their strength by investing together to create a real local mining sector with greater professionalism for a prosperous national economy. Amina yarabi.
Thank you for your availability Mr. CEO Ismael Siby
I thank you Mr. Journalist.
Interview conducted by Rodrigue Fénelon Massala
Great Reporter
