Of the 82 quarrying sites inspected, 47 are in operation, 23 have been abandoned and 13 are nearing the end of their operations. These are the results of the campaign to identify illegal quarrying sites organised by the Quarries Department from 1 to 4 August and from 7 to 11 August 2023. This assessment was made on 14 August 2023. The aim of the campaign was to raise awareness among illegal quarry operators in order to bring them back into line, and to crack down in cases of reluctance. Four regions were involved: Centre, Plateau Central, Hauts-Bassins and Centre-Sud. The awareness campaign focused on illegal clay and sand quarrying.
“This is the start of a campaign that is to cover the whole of the country. This first stage has given us an idea of the scale of the problem,” said Arsène Patoingnimi Tiendrebeogo, Director General of Quarries. He added that
According to him, the ultimate aim of this campaign is to formalise illegal quarry operators so that the provisions of the Mining Code can be applied. These texts provide for the collection of taxes from these operators. But the Managing Director deplores the fact that these taxes are not being collected because the sub-sector is not organised.
According to the latter, discussions are underway to ensure compliance with the legislation. Following these identification campaigns, it is planned to raise awareness and formalise the players involved. After that, a crackdown on recalcitrant operators will be put in place.
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Mines Actu Burkina
