Giant mine machine swallowing up Senegal’s fertile coast

The dredger is extracting minerals from the dunes of Africa’s smallest and one of its most scenic deserts. (Image: Eramet Grande Côte)

Agence France-Presse

Sun, 23 Mar 2025

By Lucie PeytermannLike something from the science fiction film Dune, the “world's biggest mining dredger” has been swallowing hectare after hectare of the fertile coastal strip where most of Senegal's vegetables are grown.The jagged 23km-long scar the gigantic rig has left mining for zircon – which is used in ceramics and the building industry – is so big it is visible from space.Amid a deafening din, the massive machine sucks up thousands of tonnes of mineral sands an hour, moving forward on an artificial lake...

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