(Corrects Sept. 15 story to clarify Roxgold is a subsidiary ofFortuna and Jorge Ganoza is CEO of Fortuna not Roxgold) SEGUELA, Ivory Coast, Sept 15 (Reuters) - Canada'sRoxgold, a subsidiary of Fortuna Silver Mines , onFriday opened its gold mine in the north-western region of IvoryCoast, aiming to produce about 130,000 ounces of gold per year,the company said on Friday.
"We have more than 10 years of mining production ahead of usat Seguela and our ambition is to continue exploring anddeveloping here," Jorge Ganoza, Fortuna's CEO, told reporters.
The Seguela gold mine is about 500 km north of thecommercial capital Abidjan.
Ivory Coast, the world's top cocoa producer, is seeking todevelop the West African country's long-neglected mining sectorto diversify its sources of income.
Gold output is expected to reach 50 tonnes per year, from 48tonnes in 2022, said Ivory Coast's mines minister, MamadouSangafowa Coulibaly.
He added the company had invested about 78 billion CFAfrancs ($127 million) to build the mine.
The minister said one gold mine would be inaugurated inNovember in the centre-western region of Daloa and another onenext year in the northeast town of Dabakala.
Mining companies also operating in Ivory Coast includeBarrick Gold , Endeavour and Perseus mining .($1 = 612.0000 CFA francs) (Reporting by Loucoumane Coulibaly; Editing by AnaitMiridzhanian and David Evans)
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