OUAGADOUGOU — Burkina Faso has officially opened its first state-run gold refinery, marking a step toward processing more of the country’s gold domestically instead of exporting raw gold.
President Captain Ibrahim Traoré inaugurated the RAFFINOR-BF refinery in the Ouaga 2000 district of Ouagadougou. The facility was built on a five-hectare site at a cost of more than 11 billion CFA francs (about $19 million) and is fully owned and operated by the National Precious Substances Company (SONASP) in partnership with the private sector.
The refinery has an initial annual processing capacity of 164 tonnes of gold. Its modular design allows for expansion, with a second phase planned to increase capacity to 515 tonnes per year.
The facility can process gold from industrial, artisanal and semi-mechanised operations into bars with a purity of 99.99 percent. It includes refining and analysis facilities, secure storage, a foundry and a jewellery unit.
Burkina Faso produced 94 tonnes of gold in 2025, according to the Ministry of Energy, Mines and Quarries. The refinery's capacity therefore provides room for increased domestic production and potentially processing gold from neighbouring countries in the future.
During the inauguration, Traoré said Burkina Faso wants to keep the mineral value chain inside the country rather than sending raw materials abroad. The government expects the refinery to create around 100 direct jobs and more than 5,000 indirect jobs.
The refinery is part of wider mining-sector reforms under Traoré's government. These include greater state participation in mining projects and tighter oversight of artisanal gold trading. Under the reforms, foreign mining companies are required to give the state a 15 percent free-carried stake in their operations.
The foundation stone for the refinery was laid in November 2023, and construction has since been completed. The facility is intended to increase Burkina Faso's domestic role in refining, certification, storage and other parts of the gold industry.
——— End of Article ———