Burkina Faso has completed the transfer of five gold mining assets to the country’s state-owned miner, according to a decree published late on Wednesday. This finalises a process that began in August to increase control over its mineral resources, like its neighbours Mali and Niger who have succeeded in doing so.
Burkina Faso last year rewrote its mining code in a bid to control a larger share of its resources. It further established the Société de Participation Minière du Burkina (SOPAMIB) as a vehicle to own, manage and operate strategic mining assets.
Seized Mining Assets
The five assets transferred to the state are two operating gold mines and three exploration licences held by subsidiaries of London-listed Endeavour Mining and Lilium, including Wahgnion Gold SA, SEMAFO Boungou SA, Ressources Ferké SARL, Gryphon Minerals Burkina Faso SARL, and Lilium Mining Services Burkina Faso SARL.
Burkina Faso’s millitary government in the decree noted “This acquisition is in line with the state’s policy of sovereign ownership of mining resources to optimise exploitation for the benefit of the population.”
