Burkina Faso's junta leader opens big gold refinery in bid to keep mining profits at home

What the report says

Burkina Faso’s military-led government has opened its first gold refinery in Ouagadougou, in a move the BBC says is intended to keep more of the country’s mineral wealth at home and reduce dependence on exporting raw gold for processing abroad. The refinery was inaugurated on Monday by junta leader Ibrahim Traoré, who has made stronger state control over natural resources a central part of his economic agenda since taking power in a 2022 coup.

According to the BBC, the new plant, called Raffinor-BF, was funded by the state, including through the National Precious Metals Company, with private-sector support. Officials say it cost more than 11bn CFA francs and will initially be able to refine 164 tonnes of gold a year, with a possible future expansion to 515 tonnes. The government says that would allow it to process gold from both industrial mines and small-scale producers, and potentially serve the wider region.

The refinery is also part of a broader push to expand local processing of commodities and increase government oversight of the mining sector. Burkina Faso is one of Africa’s major gold producers, but its informal mining industry has long been hard to regulate, especially amid jihadist violence and smuggling concerns. The authorities have said some illicit gold trading may help finance armed Islamist groups active in the country.

The BBC reports that Traoré’s administration has already increased the state’s role in mining, required foreign firms to give the government a stake in operations, and suspended exports from artisanal and semi-mechanised mines in 2024. The refinery reflects a wider trend in West Africa, where several governments are seeking to capture more value from gold before export.