Burkina Faso has opened its first gold refinery as the military-led government seeks to process more of the country’s mineral wealth domestically and strengthen state control over one of its most important industries.
Junta leader Ibrahim Traoré said the move was part of a broader effort to end the country’s reliance 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 on Monday at the inauguration of the plant in the capital, Ouagadougou.
Burkina Faso is one of Africa’s largest gold producers, but authorities have struggled to regulate the country’s informal mining sector, which has also been affected by jihadist violence.
The government hopes the new facility will help transform the landlocked country into a regional hub for gold refining.
As gold production has increased, Traoré’s government established a state-owned mining company two years ago. Foreign mining companies are now required to give the state a 15% stake in their operations and provide training for local workers.
The World Gold Council said gold production increased by 17% year-on-year in the second quarter of 2026, helped by higher output at several mines.
However, successive governments have struggled to regulate the country’s extensive artisanal and small-scale mining industry. Smuggling and informal trading have made it difficult for authorities to account for all the gold produced.
The government has also alleged that some illegally traded gold helps finance Islamist insurgents who have destabilised large parts 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.
The project was financed by the state, including through the National Precious Metals Company (Sonasp), in partnership with Burkina Faso’s private sector, the presidency said.
The plant will initially be capable of refining 164 tonnes of gold a year, significantly more than the country’s current annual production.
The government says its eventual capacity could rise to 515 tonnes a year, suggesting that it also intends to process gold from other countries 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,” he added.
The refinery is the latest part of Captain Traoré’s efforts to increase state control over Burkina Faso’s natural resources and reduce the country’s 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 state control over strategic industries.
His government has increased state involvement in the mining sector and sought to reorganise the trade in artisanal gold.
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 being used 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 that Burkina Faso is becoming more economically self-reliant, alongside investments in industries including cotton, textiles and food processing.
His policies have coincided with historically high international gold prices and increased global production. Worldwide mine output reached an estimated record 3,672 tonnes in 2025, according to the World Gold Council.
Burkina Faso’s government says the new plant should eventually be capable of refining all the gold produced by both its industrial mines and artisanal miners.
Several other West African countries are also seeking to process more of their gold domestically.
Guinea and Ghana have restricted exports of unrefined gold, while Mali is building its first refinery with the help of a Russian company. Ivory Coast also plans to open a refinery next year.