(Reuters) -Burkina Faso plans to take control of more foreign-owned industrial mines, its prime minister said, as the West African nation seeks a bigger share of revenue from its resources.
Like neighbours Mali and Niger, Burkina Faso is pushing for greater control over its resources and revised its mining code last year, creating a new state mining company, Société de Participation Minière du Burkina (SOPAMIB).
It used SOPAMIB to gain control of two industrial gold mines previously owned by a London-listed Endeavour Mining in a deal finalised late last year.
Prime Minister Jean Emmanuel Ouédraogo said in a speech broadcast on national television late on Monday that the government planned to further expand control over its resources.
“SOPAMIB has already recovered two industrial mines, notably Boungou and Wahgnion, and this will continue,” he said.
The mining sector reforms have worried investors. But Burkina Faso’s military-led government says change is needed to maximize revenue from the country’s vast gold reserves and reboot an economy hit by insecurity.
Gold prices have risen by over 25% this year, fuelled by geopolitical instability and U.S. President Donald Trump’s erratic trade policies.
Burkina Faso, which has been fighting Islamist militants since 2015, produced over 57 tons in 2023.
Mining companies operating there include Canada’s IAMGOLD and Australia’s West African Resources Ltd.
The new mining code prioritises national expertise and local suppliers, part of what the government calls a revolution in how its mineral wealth is managed.
Burkina Faso’s relations with traditional Western allies have deteriorated since the military seized power in two coups in 2022, and it has pivoted toward Russia for security and economic cooperation.
Last week, it granted an industrial mining licence to Russian miner Nordgold for a gold project in the Kourweogo province of Burkina’s Plateau-Central region.
Ouédraogo said existing state-controlled mining initiatives have been successful, with the National Precious Substances Company collecting over eight tons of gold in 2024 and more than 11 tons in the first quarter of this year, primarily from artisanal sources.
The government is also establishing a national gold reserve for the first time in its history, he added.
“We should see more of the benefits of mining in Burkina Faso not just the consequences that the population suffers,” he said.
(Writing by Maxwell Akalaare Adombila; Editing by Jessica Donati, Louise Heavens and Joe Bavier)
