OUAGADOUGOU — Burkina Faso inaugurated its first gold refinery on Monday as junta leader Capt. Ibrahim Traoré pressed to refine metals at home rather than export raw ore, BBC News reported. “We want to refine all our metals on site… we want to have the entire value chain on site,” Traoré said at the Raffinor-BF plant in the capital.
The presidency said the project cost more than 11 billion CFA francs (about $19 million), financed by the state including through Sonasp with private partners. Initial capacity is 164 tonnes a year — above current national output — with a stated path toward 515 tonnes so the plant could also process regional gold. Foreign miners must already cede a 15% state stake and train local workers; the World Gold Council said second-quarter 2026 output rose 17% year on year.
Authorities have long struggled to police artisanal mining and alleged that some illicit gold helps finance al-Qaeda- and Islamic State-linked insurgents controlling large rural areas. Mines Minister Yacouba Zabré Gouba said: “This is the day we take back the keys to our own house.” Neighbours including Guinea, Ghana, Mali and Ivory Coast are also pushing domestic refining.
Sources: BBC News
—
