Top gold producer Burkina Faso opens first refinery - The Manila Times

AI desk brief

Burkina Faso opened its first gold refinery in Ouagadougou, part of a broader push to formalize the sector and keep more of the country’s 94-tonne annual gold output onshore. The new RAFFINOR-BF plant cost 11 billion CFA francs ($19 million) and has an annual capacity of 164 tonnes, with a long-term target of up to 515 tonnes.

The move comes as the junta under Ibrahim Traore tightens control over mining, including a 2024 suspension of informal gold exports amid concerns over smuggling and jihadist financing. For the market, the direct price impact is limited, but the story reinforces West African supply-chain and sovereign control risks around one of the continent’s key gold producers.