Conservation and Extraction: The New Face of Green Colonialism in West Africa

Whether you're in Paris, Montreal, or New York, this reality concerns you: in West Africa, the alliance between mining extraction and biodiversity conservation isn't a break from the past, but the continuation of a reinvented colonial pattern. Take Simandou in Guinea: this iron ore deposit, Africa's largest, is presented as the cornerstone of a "green steel revolution". Backed by Rio Tinto and Chinese investors, this $24 billion project promises to reduce carbon emissions. But look closer: this "greenness" spreads across mountainous forests of exceptional ecological richness, where large-scale extraction threatens endemic species and ancestral communities. 150 kilometers south, the Mount Nimba range, a natural jewel and UNESCO World Heritage site, is also coveted. A simple white rope separates the strict nature reserve, sanctuary to Western chimpanzees and unique toads, from the Ivanhoe Atlantic mining concession. Here, the World Bank bets on "forest-smart" mining practices, a model claiming to reconcile technological innovation with environmental responsibility. But behind this discourse lies a darker reality: the state often facilitates the expropriation of agricultural and indigenous lands, reclassified as mining concessions or forest reserves. This convergence is no accident. Since the International Council on Mining and Metals was created in 2001, the industry has adopted a language of sustainable development. As Rio Tinto's David Richards states, mining can be "part of