Top gold producer Burkina Faso opens first refinery
The West African nation is pushing ahead with plans to better organise the commercialisation of the precious metal.
Burkina Faso, Africa's third-largest gold producer, has inaugurated its first gold refinery in the capital city of Ouagadougou. The country, which mined over 94 tonnes of gold last year, aims to better organize the commercialization of the precious metal and strengthen its industrial output. Despite efforts to control the informal gold mining sector, which has been plagued by violence and smuggling, the government has struggled to manage the industry.
President Ibrahim Traore, who seized power in 2022, has pushed for a domestically-driven and anti-Western policy to reclaim national sovereignty, including refining all metals locally. The National Gold Refinery of Burkina Faso (RAFFINOR-BF), costing 11 billion CFA francs to build, has an annual production capacity of 164 tonnes, with a potential long-term capacity of up to 515 tonnes.
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- President Traoré inaugurates Burkina Faso’s first gold refinery peopledaily.digital
- Top gold producer Burkina Faso opens first refinery freemalaysiatoday.com
