Burkina Faso has inaugurated its first-ever gold refinery, marking a major step in the military-led government's drive to process its mineral wealth locally and retain more value from its gold industry.
President Captain Ibrahim Traoré officially commissioned the facility, known as RAFFINOR-BF — Raffinerie Nationale d'Or du Burkina Faso — on Monday, September 28, 2026, in the Ouaga 2000 district of the capital, Ouagadougou.
The refinery was built on a five-hectare site and cost more than 11 billion CFA francs, about $19 million, financed by the state through the National Precious Substances Company — also called SONASP / National Precious Metals Company — and private partners.
"The entire value chain on site"
Speaking at the inauguration, Traoré said the country was moving beyond raw extraction to take control of the entire value chain.
“From now on, gold from Burkina Faso must not only be extracted in Burkina Faso, it must be processed, controlled, valued and certified in Burkina Faso," Traoré said. "We want to refine all our metals on site... we want to have the entire value chain on site," he added.
The president framed the project as a sovereignty issue, writing in the refinery's guest book that the facility reflected Burkina Faso's determination to regulate strategic sectors and make them "the foundation of prosperity."
"Our subsoil is rich and the people must fully benefit from its resources. We will provide ourselves with the means to master the extractive industry and, above all, to become a benchmark in Africa," he wrote.
He also said: "Natural resources belong to the people. They must contribute to improve their living conditions, with respect for the environment, social justice and in the interest of future generations".
Mines Minister Yacouba Zabré Gouba echoed the message: “Our gold will no longer be used to create added value for others while our people remain in need.”
What the refinery can do
RAFFINOR-BF has an initial theoretical capacity to process 164 tonnes of gold per year — about 400 kilograms per day — with plans to expand to 515 tonnes per year in a second phase.
That expanded capacity would exceed Burkina Faso's current national output, potentially allowing the country to process gold from other countries in the region and position itself as a regional refining hub.
The facility was built to international standards and will process doré gold from both industrial and artisanal mines into fine-gold bars with a purity of 99.9 percent. It includes a foundry, an analysis laboratory, secure storage and a jewelry-making unit.
Authorities say the project will create more than 100 direct jobs and about 5,000 indirect jobs, strengthen oversight and traceability of gold production, and curb smuggling from the large artisanal sector.
Context
Burkina Faso is one of the five largest gold producers in sub-Saharan Africa. Gold has become the country's leading export product, ahead of cotton.
In 2025, with 15 industrial mines and several semi-mechanized operations in production, the country produced 94 tonnes of gold, according to the Ministry of Energy, Mines and Quarries.
The inauguration comes amid a wider regional push for resource sovereignty. Across West Africa, governments are rewriting mining codes, restricting raw exports and boosting state ownership. Guinea and Ghana have recently restricted gold exports, Mali has announced a refinery project with a Russian company, and Côte d'Ivoire has said it will open one next year.
Since taking power in a September 2022, Traoré has increased state involvement in mining, creating a state-owned mining company, suspending artisanal gold exports in 2024 to improve regulation, and in May 2026 announcing a sovereign mining fund named "Siniyan-Sigui" to finance structural investments.