26 janvier 1948
23 octobre 1959
Bureau minier de la France d’outre-mer
France. Ministère de l'Industrie. Bureau minier de la France d'outre-mer (1946-1959)
Le siège social du BUMIFOM, situé à Paris, regroupe la direction et les services centraux du Bureau minier. A sa tête, on retrouve un directeur général, qui « assure, sous l’autorité et le contrôle du président du conseil d’administration, le fonctionnement des services du bureau. Il est responsable de l’exécution des décisions du conseil d’administration ». Le BUMIFOM est géré par un conseil d’administration, uniquement composé de fonctionnaires et de personnes désignées par les autorités administratives. Ses fonds proviennent principalement des bénéfices retirés de ses missions et travaux, et des subventions du F.I.D.E.S., Fonds d’investissement et de développement économique et social.
Dès la création du BUMIFOM, quatre directions locales sont implantées dans les colonies :
-en Afrique Équatoriale Française (fédération des territoires français de l'Oubangui-Chari, du Tchad, du Moyen-Congo et du Gabon (1910-1958), capitale Brazzaville)
-en Afrique Occidentale Française (fédération des colonies françaises d'Afrique de l'Ouest (1895-1958), qui groupe les territoires de la Guinée, de la Côte d'Ivoire, du Soudan, du Dahomey, de la Haute-Volta, de la Mauritanie, du Niger et du Sénégal, capitale Dakar)
-au Cameroun (en 1919, le territoire est scindé en deux. La Société des Nations confie les quatre cinquièmes à la France et le reste à la Grande-Bretagne. L’ensemble des territoires camerounais passe ensuite en 1945 sous la tutelle de l’Organisation des Nations Unies. Le Cameroun oriental (partie française) obtient son autonomie interne en 1958 dans le cadre de la Communauté française avant d’obtenir son indépendance en 1960)
-à Madagascar (intégrée à l’empire colonial français depuis 1896, elle obtient, en 1946, le statut de territoire français d’outre-mer. Elle devient en 1958 une république autonome dans le cadre de la Communauté française avant d’accéder à l’indépendance en juin 1960)
-une cinquième direction est créée, à partir de 1952, en Nouvelle-Calédonie (territoire d’outre-mer depuis 1946)
Les directeurs locaux, assistés d’ingénieurs et de cadres administratifs, sont responsables vis-à-vis du siège social de la conduite et de l’exécution des travaux qui sont effectués dans chaque territoire par des centres et des missions de recherches. Chaque direction est dotée du personnel technique (ingénieurs, géologues, prospecteurs, sondeurs, mineurs, …) nécessaire à l’exécution des tâches qui lui sont confiées. Il existe à l’intérieur de chaque direction locale une véritable hiérarchisation entre les centres et les chantiers.
Le BUMIFOM est créé au lendemain de la Seconde Guerre mondiale, avec l'objectif de constituer une structure publique pour la mise en valeur des ressources minières dans les territoires sous obédience française. L'amélioration des capacités minières de la France est nécessaire à la reprise de son économie, à un moment où les besoins se sont accrus.
Sur le modèle du Bureau de recherches et de participations minières (BRPM), créé en 1928 au Maroc sous protectorat français, le BUMIFOM fait partie d'un ensemble de structures comparables. Le Bureau de recherches minières de l’Algérie (BRMA) est également créé en 1948, et l'année suivante naît le Bureau minier guyanais (BMG).
À partir de 1958, de nombreux pays d’Afrique entrent dans l'Union française avant d'accéder à l'indépendance en 1960. Ce changement de contexte conduit à la décision de regrouper les organismes de recherche géologique et de prospection minière. Le BUMIFOM sert d'ossature administrative à la nouvelle institution, qui inclut le BRGGM (bureau des recherches géologiques, géophysiques et minières), le BRMA et le BMG. Le 23 octobre 1959, un décret annonce officiellement la naissance du Bureau de recherches géologiques et minières (BRGM).
Le Bureau minier de la France d’outre-mer est créé par le décret du 26 janvier 1948, par application de la loi n°46-860 du 30 avril 1946 tendant à l’établissement, au financement et à l’exécution de plans d’équipement et de développement des territoires dépendant du ministère de la France d’outre-mer. Il a le statut de société d’État, doté d’une personnalité civile et de l’autonomie financière. L’arrêté du 31 mars 1948 définit ses statuts.
Les missions du BUMIFOM sont de promouvoir dans les territoires relevant du ministère de la France d’outre-mer (AOF, AEF, Cameroun, Madagascar et la Nouvelle-Calédonie), la recherche, l’équipement, l’exploitation des ressources minérales du sous-sol, à l’exception des hydrocarbures et des minerais radioactifs. Il a notamment repris les travaux de recherche minière du Service des mines des différents territoires.
La compétence du BUMIFOM s’étend à tous les minéraux autres que les combustibles liquides et les minéraux radioactifs. Les travaux conduits par lui ont porté sur l’étude de nombreuses substances minérales : le béryl (Madagascar), les bitumes (Moyen-Congo), la bauxite (Côte d’Ivoire, Togo), le charbon (Madagascar, Nouvelle-Calédonie), le chrome (Madagascar, Nouvelle-Calédonie), le cobalt (Nouvelle-Calédonie), le cuivre (Mauritanie, Niger, Moyen-Congo, Nouvelle-Calédonie), le diamant (Oubangui), l’étain (Cameroun, Tchad, Oubangui), le fer (Mauritanie, Guinée, Côte d’Ivoire, Dahomey, Togo, Cameroun, Gabon, Nouvelle-Calédonie), l’or (Guinée, Haute-Volta, Côte d’Ivoire, Niger, Cameroun, Oubangui, Moyen-Congo, Gabon), le manganèse (Soudan, Haute-Volta, Gabon), le mica (Madagascar), le phosphate (Sénégal, Dahomey, Togo, Moyen-Congo), le plomb (Moyen-Congo, Madagascar), la potasse (Gabon), la silice et le calcaire (Moyen-Congo), le wolfram (Tchad), le zinc (Moyen-Congo).
L’intervention du BUMIFOM s’exerce de manières diverses : soit directement dans des travaux qu’il a conduits et financés seul ; soit par le canal d’associations en participation avec des intérêts privés, dont il assure ou non la gérance ; soit par le canal d’associations avec des collectivités publiques ; soit par des prises de participation dans des sociétés et syndicats de recherche ou d’exploitation.
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