Burkina Faso has opened its first gold refinery as president Ibrahim Traoré pushes to process the country’s mineral resources domestically.
The government hopes to increase state control, create local jobs, and make Burkina Faso a regional gold-refining hub.
The move comes as gold production grows and authorities seek to better regulate the informal mining sector.
“Burkina Faso has reached a historic milestone in its quest for economic independence. Our ambition is no longer to be a country that simply extracts and ships its raw materials abroad. We want to refine all our metals locally…we want to have the entire value chain here,” President Traore said.
