Burkina Faso: RAFFINOR-BF, the country's first gold refinery, begins operations in Ouagadougou

Burkina Faso now has its first gold refinery. The President of the transition, Captain Ibrahim Traoré, inaugurated RAFFINOR-BF in Ouagadougou on September 28, 2026, nearly three years after the groundbreaking ceremony on November 18, 2023. The plant puts an end to a long-standing situation: as the leading gold producer in West Africa with an estimated output of over 94 tonnes in 2025, the country had previously been shipping its raw metal to be refined elsewhere, according to the national daily Sidwaya.

The announced capacity is 164 tonnes per year for the first phase, with a long-term goal of 515 tonnes. The investment exceeds 11 billion CFA francs, or just over 19 million dollars. The capital is held by the Burkinabè state, through the National Precious Substances Company (SONASP), alongside private investors. The gold produced is expected to reach a purity of 99.99%, the "Good Delivery" standard recognized on international markets.

More than 100 direct jobs

The refinery claims to provide more than 100 direct jobs and approximately 5,000 indirect jobs, according to Sidwaya. Beyond the figures, the stated objective of the authorities is to regain control over a largely informal sector: to regulate artisanal mining, reduce smuggling, and retain in Burkina a portion of the value that had previously evaporated through exports. The authorities also draw a link between the illicit gold trade and the financing of armed groups in the region.

"Today, we are breaking this link of dependency," declared the Minister of Energy and Mines, Yacouba Zabré Gouba, as quoted by Sidwaya. Captain Traoré summarized the ambition: "We want to refine all our metals locally." The Director General of RAFFINOR-BF is Adama Sawadogo.

A movement that goes beyond Ouagadougou

Burkina Faso is not alone on this path. Guinea has just mandated that exported gold must first be refined on its soil, and several states on the continent are seeking to process more of their resources before selling them. This is the heart of a long-standing debate: Africa provides raw materials and buys finished products, a model inherited from the colonial economy that local processing aims to dismantle.

It remains to be seen what the results will be. Installed capacity is not the same as actual production, and the success of RAFFINOR-BF will depend on its ability to capture gold from artisanal sites, sell its production in demanding markets, and keep its costs under control. The volumes actually refined over the coming months will serve as the first test.