Top gold producer Burkina Faso opens first refinery - EWN

AI desk brief

Burkina Faso has opened its first gold refinery, the National Gold Refinery of Burkina Faso (RAFFINOR-BF), as it moves to formalise and retain more value from one of Africa’s top gold streams. The country produced more than 94 tonnes of gold last year, and authorities have also suspended exports of gold from informal mining to curb smuggling and fraud.

The refinery, inaugurated in Ouagadougou, cost 11 billion CFA francs ($19 million), was funded by the state and domestic private sector, and has an annual capacity of 164 tonnes with a long-term target of up to 515 tonnes. The move sits alongside nationalisations and broader resource-sovereignty policies under Captain Ibrahim Traore, with security concerns in the Sahel still disrupting the mining sector.