A broad convergence of views on the need for a major paradigm shift:"Mining techniques and technologies have evolved, the iron ore market has changed with fierce competition, HR management has modernized, training techniques and technologies have developed, the business environment has changed, the national context in which SNIM was created is no longer the same, all planning and management standards have experienced innovations; then SNIM is forced to adapt to these developments by imperatively changing paradigm" hammered the Minister of Oil, Energy and Mines, Mr. Abdessalam Ould Mohamed Saleh during his various meetings with the management of SNIM in Nouadhibou and Zouerate.

The Minister of Oil, Energy and Mines, who carried out a fact-finding visit to SNIM from October 16 to 18, 2020, invited the general management of SNIM, its management and all of its staff to launch the necessary reforms, which will be strongly supported by the Government, in order to restore SNIM to its former status "as the flagship of Mauritania throughout the world, as a national breeding ground for skills and a reference in the transfer of technologies ”.

In this context, the Minister welcomed the adoption by SNIM of a strategic business plan aimed at boosting its production in the short, medium and long terms, recalling the priority that the Mauritanian public authorities give to the Company and its urgent recovery. He also praised the notable improvement in the social climate within the company and in its relations with its various partners, recorded in recent months thanks to the initiative of the Managing Director Mr. El Moctar Ould Djay.

In the effort to train SNIM, the Minister called on each party (Government, Board of Directors, General Management, Staff) to properly play its part, specifying that the role of the Government will be essentially the search for synergies necessary for the transformation of the company and no longer intervention in its management.

SNIM, which currently produces 12 million tonnes per year, intends to double its production by 2025 thanks to the implementation of the company's strategic plan, notably through:

• the increase in production of the Guelb2 plant to 4MT
• the development of the F’derick project for the production of 3 MT of hematites
• the development of the Tizerghaf project for the production of 6 Mt of concentrates.

At the end of his visit, the Minister of Oil, Energy and Mines said he was reassured by the broad convergence of views between the Government, the General Manager of SNIM and its management on the need for a major paradigm shift for a better tomorrow for the Company, the country, the employees and their families without forgetting the local populations.

In Nouadhibou, Mr. Abdessalam Ould Mohamed Saleh visited the railway equipment maintenance workshops, port handling and the ore port as well as the factory for manufacturing concrete sleepers. In Zouerate, he visited the mine and handling of TO14 (Kedia), the mine and factories of Guelb El Rhein, the power station and the technical training center of Zouerate.