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Burkina Faso tightens grip on $7 billion gold industry as foreign firms lose ground
By Segun Adeyemi
Business Insider Africa, New York
Saturday, May 23, 2026
Burkina Faso is rapidly tightening its grip on one of Africa's most valuable industries as the military-led government pushes to reduce foreign dominance over the country's gold sector.
The West African nation, one of the continent's leading gold producers, has spent the past three years restructuring mining ownership in what authorities describe as a drive for "economic sovereignty."
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By the end of 2025, six of Burkina Faso's 15 active industrial gold mines were majority-owned by Burkinabe companies, according to specialised mining outlet Mines Actu Burkina. Three of those mines are now directly controlled by the state through the Burkina Faso Mining Participation Co.
According to APANews, the shift marks a major break from decades of foreign-led control over Burkina Faso's industrial mining sector, where multinational companies historically dominated production and profits. ...
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