Mali has taken a 51 percent controlling stake in a new industrial explosives company formed with China’s Auxin Chemical Technology, in a move aimed at strengthening its mining supply chain and reducing dependency on imports, Business Insider Africa reports. The venture, FARATCHI-CO SA, is designed to produce civil-use explosives locally, inputs essential to gold, lithium and quarrying operations, and reflects both Mali’s increased state involvement in strategic sectors and China’s expanding industrial footprint in the Sahel.
The Council of Ministers in Bamako granted approval for the joint venture, which positions the Malian government as the majority owner while Auxin retains a 49 percent stake, providing the financing and technical expertise needed to construct the explosives plant within 12 months. Authorities said that having a majority stake will allow the state to secure sensitive materials, improve supply reliability and exercise stronger oversight in a region marked by ongoing insecurity.
Auxin Chemical Technology, linked to China’s NORINCO Group, a major industrial and defence conglomerate, already supplies explosives to several African countries, and its involvement in the Malian venture is part of a broader pattern of Beijing’s support for industrial and extractive infrastructure across the continent.
Mali’s decision to increase state control in the explosives sector aligns with changes introduced in the 2023 mining code, which raised mandatory government equity in mining-related projects and boosted local-content requirements to capture more value from natural resources. The explosives plant is intended to reduce Mali’s reliance on imported blasting agents that are critical to mining and construction activities.
The move also underscores shifting geopolitical dynamics in the Sahel, where Mali, alongside Burkina Faso and Niger, has increasingly deepened ties with China and Russia, drawing concern from some Western investors. The pivot includes expanded cooperation in gold refining, uranium development and security-related projects.
Mali’s extractive sector has faced challenges in recent years. Although the country hosts around 30 industrial gold operations, including 15 large mines and two lithium projects, output has been affected by regulatory reforms and ongoing security issues, contributing to a 23 percent decline in gold production in the previous year, according to the Ministry of Mines. By taking a majority stake in explosives production, Bamako is betting that state control combined with Chinese technical support will stabilise a critical component of the mining supply chain amid a rapidly evolving geopolitical and security environment.
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