Mauritania's highest point is near Zouérate, Kediet ej-Jill, at 915 m altitude.The first prospecting for iron ore took place in 1935, but it was not until 1960 that the newly independent Mauritania began to invest in its extraction. The problem of transportation was solved by building the only railroad in the country, which carried the iron from Zouérate to Nouadhibou over more than 600 km. The exploitation of these open-pit mines began in 1963. The exceptional iron content of the ore extracted, about 65%, quickly ensured numerous markets for what was to become the primary source of foreign exchange earnings for Mauritania.In 1974, the Mauritanian authorities decided to nationalize the Zouérate mines, which became part of the Société nationale industrielle et minière (SNIM). With ore exports linked to the health of the global economy, foreign exchange earnings were adversely affected by the oil crisis in the 1970s and 1980s. With the improvement in the global economic outlook and the discovery of new deposits, Mauritania can look to the future of iron ore mining with confidence. Recent prospecting, mainly in the northeast, suggests that new deposits, not only of iron but also of other metals, may be found.

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Le train du désert, qui relie la mine de Zouérate à Nouadhibou. François JANNE DOTHEE

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