Burkina Faso is taking a major step in that direction with the launch of its first gold refinery, as the West African country seeks to retain more value from its mineral resources.
The Raffinor BF refinery, located in the Ouaga 2000 district of Ouagadougou, is scheduled for official inauguration on September 28.
The facility has a gold-processing capacity of about 400 kilograms per day.
But the project goes beyond refining.
Built on a site covering about five hectares, the complex includes an assay laboratory, smelting facilities, secure storage and a jewellery-processing unit.
It will also host the headquarters of Burkina Faso’s national precious metals company, SONASP.
The facility is expected to support a more integrated domestic gold value chain, covering testing, refining, storage and downstream processing.
Gold Remains a Major Revenue Source
Gold is one of Burkina Faso’s most important economic resources.
Official mining-sector figures show that the country produced more than 94 tonnes of gold in 2025, including almost 43 tonnes from artisanal and semi-mechanised operations.
The sector generated more than 776 billion CFA francs in revenue for the state during the year.
Despite this production, part of Burkina Faso’s gold has traditionally been refined outside the country, limiting the amount of processing and value addition retained locally.
The government has increasingly sought to change that.
When President Ibrahim Traoré laid the foundation stone for the refinery in November 2023, authorities said the project would help expand domestic gold processing, strengthen oversight of the gold trade and increase mining’s contribution to national development.
A Broader Shift in Mining Policy
The refinery is part of Burkina Faso’s wider push to increase domestic participation in the mining industry.
The country has taken steps to expand local mineral processing, increase state participation in strategic mining projects and direct more mining revenue toward industrial development and infrastructure.
The approach reflects a broader debate across Africa.
The continent holds large reserves of gold, copper, cobalt, lithium and other strategic minerals, yet much of its mineral output continues to leave as raw or minimally processed material.
For resource-producing countries, the focus is increasingly shifting from how much mineral wealth can be extracted to how much processing, employment, technology and economic value can be retained locally.
Burkina Faso’s new refinery will not transform the mining sector overnight.
But it gives the country greater capacity to process its gold domestically and could mark another step toward a more integrated mining value chain.
For Burkina Faso, the goal is increasingly clear: to mine its gold, process more of it at home and retain a larger share of its value within the national economy.
