A two-month power vacuum in the coup-prone West African country delayed progress on several major deals and aid projects but a new government was installed in October. The start date is slightly later than the originally planned late 2017.

Delio Darsamo, country manager for GB Minerals, said on Wednesday that the Farim mine project has a 25-year timeframe for producing phosphates used to make fertilisers. Production is expected to be around 1 million tonnes annually.

(Reporting by Alberto Dabo; Additional reporting and writing by Emma Farge; Editing by Susan Fenton)