- Skygold Resources calls on former Taparko employees
- The factory section to start with
- Expansion of activities according to the security situation
The management of the Nordgold group has left the shareholding of the Taparko Mining Company (SOMITA). The shares have been transferred to Skygold Resources, a limited liability company (LLC) under Malian law. This is the main message that the new owners of Taparko have sent to the local authorities to inform them of the resumption of the mine’s activities.
As a reminder, Taparko’s activities, operated by the Nordgold group, have been halted since April 2022. Indeed, in a note dated 9 April 2022, SOMITA SA’s General Manager at the time, Alexander Hagan Mensa, had announced the shutdown of the company’s activities, citing the deteriorating security situation in Burkina Faso as an argument. “The entire area around our operating sites, including the Ouaga-Dori road, is currently under terrorist threat. Also, as you know, one of SOMITA S.A.’s fundamental values is the safety and health of workers,” he said in his note. Access to the site has become increasingly impossible despite costly investments in security, he noted. It is in light of this situation, which endangers the lives of site personnel, that the decision to stop work was made.
This stoppage has had consequences for production. Only 353 kg of gold were sold in 2022, compared to 2.92 tonnes in 2022. The sale of the 2022 production generated a turnover of 12.615 billion FCFA compared to 94.48 billion FCFA in 2022.
The loss of revenue from this closure has affected the commune of Yalgo, which houses the mine. It has revised its 2022 budget downwards because it will not receive the patente and the Local Development Mining Fund (LDMF), the cumulative amounts of which are close to one billion FCFA.
The announcement of the resumption of work was welcomed by the local authorities and the neighbouring communities, who expect direct and indirect employment.
In its recovery plan, Skygold Resources is gradually bringing in former workers from the Taparko mine.
Initially, it plans to start operations in the factory sector in order to continue processing the ore that was in stock at the time of closure, before considering a gradual extension of operations depending on the evolution of the security situation on the ground.
As a reminder, it was on 15 December 1995 that High River Gold signed a mining agreement with the Burkinabe state for the exploitation of the Taparko mine. SOMITA obtained its operating permit in August 2004 before Nordgold took control of the company. Taparko went into production on 1 July 2007. The end of operations is scheduled for 2024, according to the EITI 2020 report.
Elie KABORE
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