Burkina Faso: Ibrahim Traoré inaugurates Raffinor-BF, the country's first gold refinery

The President of the Faso, Captain Ibrahim Traoré, inaugurated Burkina Faso's first gold refinery, Raffinor-BF, on September 28, 2026, in Ouaga 2000, Ouagadougou. The project represents an 11 billion CFA franc investment from public funds, according to Journal du Faso and Faso7.

164 tonnes per year, with room for expansion

The plant has an initial capacity of 164 tonnes of gold per year, or approximately 450 kilograms per day, which is set to increase to over 500 tonnes following a planned expansion, reports Journal du Faso. It is expected to produce gold bars with 99.99% purity, meeting international Good Delivery standards. Situated on five hectares, the facility includes a foundry, an analysis laboratory, a secure storage area, and a jewelry workshop. The National Precious Substances Company (SONASP) is the majority shareholder alongside private partners, according to Faso7. The foundation stone was laid in November 2023 with the Malian company Marena Gold, whose shares SONASP has since purchased, specifies the Agence Ecofin.

"Refining all our metals locally"

The Head of State summarized the ambition: to no longer be content with just extracting and exporting, but to "refine all our metals locally," according to Faso7. The Minister of Mines, Yacouba Zabré Gouba, expects that refining on Burkinabe soil will create more local wealth, skilled jobs, better production traceability, and tighter control over financial flows. The Director General of Raffinor-BF, Adama Sawadogo, describes the facility as having automated and closed-loop equipment. The stated goal goes beyond technical aspects: it is about keeping a share of the value of a metal in Burkina Faso that has been exported in its raw state for decades to foundries in Europe, the Middle East, and Asia.

The supply challenge

National production exceeded 94 tonnes in 2025, with approximately 43 tonnes coming from artisanal and semi-mechanized mining, compared to a total of 58.15 tonnes in 2022 when artisanal contributions were still marginal, according to the Agence Ecofin, which cites a 150-tonne capacity for the plant. The regulatory framework requires industrial miners to process a portion of their production locally, but the specific terms have yet to be set by ministerial decree. Without a regular flow, a refinery runs empty.

What comes next

Regional competition is expected to be intense: Guinea, Mali, and Côte d'Ivoire are all developing refining projects, which will heighten the race to capture gold in the sub-region. For Ouagadougou, success will be measured by three things: the ability to formalize artisanal gold without penalizing miners, the regularity of industrial deliveries, and the fight against fraud and money laundering, which the plant is intended to make more difficult.