OTTAWA — A Canadian mining company that has exploited one of the largest gold deposits in Central African Republic is bearing the brunt of Russia’s war of influence on the African continent to drive out Westerners and control natural resources.
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The case dates back to 2019, when the Central African government revoked the license to operate the N’dassima mine of a Vancouver-registered company Axmin, which is listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange.
A few months later, the gold mine was sold to Midas Resources, a company of Russia’s Concord Management group controlled by Evgueni Prigojine, the head of the Wagner militia who was killed this week.
Wagner’s mercenaries have been present in the Central African Republic since 2017. They provide security for President Faustin-Archange Touadéra in exchange for control over natural resources. One of them, Valery Sakharov, was even the president’s special adviser on national security.
Russian mercenaries are similarly operating in other African countries, including Mali, under cover of a smokescreen of companies, all reporting to Yevgueni Prigojine.
But the Central African Republic “is the most advanced example of Wagner’s economic model in Africa, to the point that his interventions could be described as state conquest,” writes the Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime in a report published in February.
Central African President Faustin-Archange Touadéra waves to the crowd after his January 2021 victory. AFP
Washington concerned
Axmin is therefore just one Western company among others whose paths crossed with the Russians in Africa. But his setbacks are worrying Washington, as US officials believe the gargantuan N’dassima mine has the potential to fund Wagner’s operations in the future, according to diplomatic cables obtained by Politico.
According to a study by Axmin, the mine is one of the few industrially viable mines in the country and has an estimated gross value of US$2.8 billion. The company did not respond to questions from the journal and Global Affairs Canada, which supports Canadian companies abroad, declined to comment “on grounds of commercial secrecy.”
However, according to the diplomatic cables, it seems clear that Wagner’s men are now overseeing operations at N’dassima and have literally fortified it. According to the cables, production increased “extraordinarily” in 2022.
Miners at the N’dassima open pit gold mine in eastern Central African Republic. This picture was taken before the site was taken over by Wagner’s mercenaries. At that time, the mine was still in the hands of the Canadian company Axmin, which could not exploit it because it was controlled by armed rebels from the Seleka group. Agency Anadolu GETTY IMAGES
gold to finance the war
Washington imposed sanctions on Wagner and Midas Resources in June, saying the fog “funds its brutal operations in part by exploiting natural resources in countries like Central African Republic and Mali.”
For its part, Global Affairs Canada, which has also imposed sanctions on the Russian group for its role in Ukraine, says it is “concerned about Wagner’s presence” in Africa and “its impact on security and foreign trade interests.”
The Central African government claims it expelled Axmin for failing to meet legal deadlines for the mine to start operating. However, the Canadian company counters that local security conditions, particularly the presence of gunmen, rebels and mercenaries, prevented operations.
Axmin, which has reportedly invested US$900 million in developing N’dassima since 2006, has been trying for months to negotiate with local authorities to recover the mine, without success. It now goes to the International Court of Arbitration.
The Central African Republic is one of the poorest countries in the world. According to the World Bank, 71% of the population lives on less than US$1.90 a day. The United Nations estimates that 56% of the population will need humanitarian assistance and protection this year, a 10% increase from 2022.
This family arrives at a Caritas NGO center for displaced people east of the Central African Republic’s capital, Bangui. In 2014, a quarter of the country’s population had to flee regions where there were violent ethnic-religious conflicts. AFP
What does the death of the Wagner leader change in Africa?
The death of Evgueni Prigojine does not mean that Wagner and the Kremlin will disappear from the African landscape, warns Lova Rinel, a researcher specializing in Wagner and Russia on the continent and associated with the Strategic Research Foundation.
“Like any mafia, you cut off the head of the octopus, but it grows back,” she warned in French magazine L’Express. She even believes that Yevgeny Prigoyine’s successor could be none other than former adviser to Central African President Valery Sakharov, Wagner’s supreme commander.
The former Russian intelligence agent is one of the last survivors of the Wagner hierarchy, as the boss’s two most obvious successors, Sergei Surovikin and Dmitri Outkin, are believed to have also passed away.
strategic continent
After his mutiny in June, Evgueni Prigojine kept a low profile. But he dedicated his few appearances to Africa, making it clear how important the continent is for Russia. Ms Rinel stresses that “the war in Ukraine has made Russian influence in Africa an absolute necessity, as Vladimir Putin needs the voice of African leaders when it comes to resolutions at the United Nations.”
In a video broadcast on July 19, Evgueni Prigoyine indicated that his men would leave the Ukrainian front to focus on Africa: “This is not the end, but the beginning of a great work that will be carried out soon,” said he .
In late July, he was pictured shaking hands with Freddy Mapouka, chief of protocol to the President of the Central African Republic, in the middle of the Russia-Africa summit in Saint Petersburg.
Finally, two days before his private jet crashed, he made a final video appearance claiming to be in Africa. In disguise, he declared that his men were “making Russia even greater on every continent and in Africa.”
In a video posted to Telegram on August 22, 2023, Wagner boss states that he is in Africa in an unknown country. AFP PHOTO / TELEGRAM @razgruzka_vagnera
White cap, white cap
And in the Central African Republic, the warlord’s death shouldn’t change the situation, as the government there claims it signed “a defense agreement with Russia, not Wagner” and that Moscow has “subcontracts” with the paramilitary group.
AFP images
After years of denying any connection between the Kremlin and Wagner, Vladimir Putin admitted that Russia paid the paramilitary group 86 billion rubles, or more than $1.2 billion. In return, the mercenaries serve as the Kremlin’s armed arm abroad.
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