GCO-Méouane partnership: between professed local development and suspicions of strategic maneuvering
In August 2025, tensions were at their peak between the Méouane town hall and Grande Côte Opérations (GCO), the Senegalese subsidiary of the French group Eramet. Mayor Cheikh Sall denounced what he called “serious shortcomings” in the mining company’s activities, accusing it of human rights violations and major environmental harm. He even announced his intention to take legal action to demand reparations, in the name of a “true ecological justice”.
For several years, Eramet GCO has been at the center of an ongoing controversy in Senegal. Its zircon mining activities have been regularly criticized for their impacts on public health, soil degradation and local economic imbalance. Protests by residents and civil society organizations have multiplied, calling for the suspension of mining operations and the revision of agreements seen as outdated and unfavorable to the populations.
Yet, to general surprise, a memorandum of understanding was signed on 25 September 2025 between Eramet GCO and the Méouane town hall, under the supervision of the arrondissement’s sub-prefect. The company commits to finance various community projects there, notably the construction of a school and other social initiatives presented as support for local development.
But behind this apparent reconciliation, observers see a shrewd PR operation. Méouane, a municipality that had been in open opposition to GCO, suddenly becomes a beneficiary of its “social policy.” For many analysts, this turnaround resembles a maneuver aimed at calming tensions and avoiding a potentially costly trial. Others see it as a backtracking by Mayor Cheikh Sall, whose statements praising “Eramet’s involvement in the economic and social development of his municipality” were judged contradictory with his earlier stance.
This agreement reignites a fundamental debate: can long-term ecological and social damages be offset by a few school facilities or one-off donations? In Méouane, the regained calm seems fragile. Many fear that this type of agreement, presented as a win-win partnership, is in reality only a way to buy social peace at the expense of environmental justice.
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