The government of Burkina Faso has officially inaugurated its first gold refinery as the junta government seeks to process more of the country’s mineral wealth domestically and strengthen its control over one of its most important industries.
BBC reports that the junta leader Ibrahim Traoré said the refinery was part of a broader effort to end Burkina Faso’s dependence on exporting raw materials for processing abroad.
“We want to refine all our metals on site… we want to have the entire value chain on site,” he said at the plant’s inauguration in the capital, Ouagadougou, on Monday.
Diaspora Digital Media understand that Burkina Faso is one of Africa’s biggest gold producers, though authorities have struggled to regulate the informal mining sector, which has been affected by jihadist violence.
Traoré’s government hopes the new facility will help transform the landlocked country into a regional gold-refining hub.
With gold production increasing, the government established a state-owned mining company two years ago, while foreign mining firms are now required to give the state a 15% stake in their operations and train local workers.
The World Gold Council said gold output rose by 17% year-on-year in the second quarter of 2026, supported by increased production at several mines.
Meanwhile, successive governments have struggled to regulate the country’s extensive artisanal and small-scale mining industry, where smuggling and informal trading have made it difficult to account for all gold produced.
The government has also alleged that some illegally traded gold helps finance the Islamist insurgency that has affected much of the country.
Burkina Faso has been fighting armed Islamist groups linked to al-Qaeda and Islamic State for years, with large areas remaining outside full government control.
The new refinery, known as Raffinor-BF, cost more than 11bn CFA francs ($19m; £14m), according to the presidency.
It said the project was financed by the state, including through the National Precious Metals Company (Sonasp), in partnership with Burkina Faso’s private sector.
The plant, according to BBC will initially be capable of refining 164 tonnes of gold a year, significantly more than the country’s current annual production.
The government said its eventual capacity could rise to 515 tonnes, indicating its intention to also process gold from elsewhere in the region.
“This is the day we take back the keys to our own house,” Mines Minister Yacouba Zabré Gouba said at the opening.
“Our gold will no longer be used to create added value for others while our people remain in need.”
The refinery is the latest part of Traoré’s drive to increase state control over Burkina Faso’s natural resources and reduce its economic dependence on foreign companies and former Western partners.
Since taking power in a coup in September 2022, the 38-year-old army captain has promoted a nationalist economic agenda focused on domestic production and greater control of strategic industries.
His government has increased state involvement in the mining sector and sought to reorganise the trade in artisanal gold.
The authorities suspended exports of gold produced by artisanal and semi-mechanised mines in 2024, saying the measure was intended to improve regulation of the sector.
Traoré has previously accused smugglers of illegally taking large quantities of gold out of Burkina Faso and said some of the proceeds were helping to finance militant groups.
The refinery is also part of a broader government campaign to process more commodities domestically rather than exporting them in raw form.
Traoré has presented such projects as evidence of Burkina Faso becoming more economically self-reliant, alongside investments in industries including cotton, textiles and food processing.
Burkina Faso’s government said the new plant should eventually be capable of refining all the gold produced by both its industrial mines and artisanal miners.
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