Burkina Faso Opens First Gold Refinery as Traoré Pushes for Greater Control of Mineral Wealth

Image Credit: Burkina Faso Presidency

Burkina Faso has inaugurated its first gold refinery as the military-led government seeks to keep more of the value generated by the country’s gold industry inside its borders. The RAFFINOR-BF facility in Ouagadougou was officially opened by interim leader Captain Ibrahim Traoré on September 28.

The refinery cost more than 11 billion CFA francs, about $19 million, and was financed mainly by the state through the National Precious Metals Company, in partnership with private investors. Its first phase has a theoretical refining capacity of 164 tonnes of gold annually, with plans to increase this to 515 tonnes through additional refining lines.

Traoré said the project was part of a broader effort to move away from exporting raw minerals for processing elsewhere. The government wants Burkina Faso to capture more of the value generated by its natural resources while developing local expertise and strengthening state oversight of the mining industry.

The move comes as Burkina Faso’s gold production continues to grow. The World Gold Council recorded a 17% year-on-year increase in the country’s mine production in the second quarter of 2026, driven partly by increased output from several major operations. At the same time, authorities have struggled to fully regulate the large artisanal and small-scale mining sector, where informal trading and smuggling have made it difficult to track production.

Gold is particularly important to Burkina Faso’s economy, but the industry operates against the backdrop of a prolonged security crisis. Armed groups linked to al-Qaeda and Islamic State have carried out attacks across large parts of the country. The government has also argued that illegal gold trading can provide revenue to militant networks, making tighter control and traceability a security as well as an economic issue.

The refinery is also part of a wider shift across West Africa. Ghana has expanded local refining through its GoldBod programme, while Guinea is developing a refinery with an annual capacity of more than 500 tonnes. Mali is also building refining capacity as governments across the region seek to reduce exports of unprocessed gold and retain more economic value domestically.

For Burkina Faso, the government hopes RAFFINOR-BF will eventually process both industrial and artisanal production and potentially attract gold from neighbouring countries. If the planned expansion is achieved, the facility could therefore become more than a domestic refinery, forming part of Traoré’s wider ambition to turn Burkina Faso into a regional centre for gold processing and increase state control over one of its most valuable natural resources.