Ivory Coast rebel zones strike gold, await wealth

portable crusher and screener

Gold pouring from a mine in Ivory Coast's rebel-held northern zones since this week is offering new livelihoods for locals who have long seen themselves as neglected by successive southern governments.

The surge in mining interest coincides with a presidential poll -- heading towards a November 28 run-off -- that many Ivorians hope will put their drawn out crisis behind them, reuniting the country and spurring new investment in the process. At a gold mine in the hot, dry savannah of northern Ivory Coast, local workers donning helmets watch hot gold dribble from a kiln, their shiny protective outfits lit up by the flames. "For 40 years the development of this country was based on nothing but agriculture," Mines Minister Augustin Komoe said during a visit to the new site. "We don't want to abandon agriculture, but we must intensify our work in mining." Randgold Resources, poured its first gold from the West African nation on Monday, forecasting an average annual production of...