The government of Burkina Faso regularly carries out institutional reforms to monitor and supervise the mining sector. The artisanal sector has not been left behind. Several structures dedicated to the control and supervision of this sector have been created. From the Comptoir Burkinabé des Métaux Précieux (CBMP) to the Société Nationale des Substances Précieuses (SONASP) and the Agence Nationale d’Encadrement des Exploitations Minières Artisanales et Semi-Mécanisées (ANEEMAS), the aim of these structures is to improve management of the artisanal sub-sector and the people who work in it. At the 2nd edition of the Journée de l’Artisan minier (JAM), Ki Seka, Mining Engineer, spoke about these institutional reforms.
Setting of 5 small production units in Essakane, Sébba, Guiro and Piéla
According to Ki Seka, the Comptoir burkinabé des Métaux précieux (CBMP) was created under the revolutionary regime out of a clear desire on the part of the state to get involved in the mining sector. When it was set up, the CBMP’s role was to ensure that gold production and collection were better structured so as to keep it within a legal economic circuit, to provide the necessary technical support and advice to gold miners on site so as to minimise the risk of accidents, to contribute to the rational marketing of gold and to improve Burkina Faso’s trade balance. In addition to creating the CBMP, the government had also set up 5 small production units in Essakane, Sébba, Guiro and Piéla. The abolition of the CBMP with the adoption of structural adjustment programmes in 1991 liberalised the gold trade and encouraged the proliferation of private gold buying and export outlets, says Ki Seka.
After the CBMP was abolished in 1991, the government went through a number of reforms before creating the Agence Nationale d’Encadrement des Explitations Minières Artisanales et Semi-Mécanisées (ANEEMAS) in 2015. ANEEMAS was transformed into the Société Nationale des Substances Précieuses (SONASP) in 2023. One of the major reforms is the creation of a ministry dedicated to mining.
Within this ministry, the Direction de la Promotion de la Petite Mine (DPPM) was created. The objectives assigned to this direction included strengthening the institutions responsible for promoting small-scale mining, improving organisation and supporting the search for solutions to finance artisanal mining activities. In view of the objectives assigned to the DPPM, it has undergone a number of changes of name, from the Direction des Exploitations Minières à Petite Échelle (DEMPEC) to the Direction des Exploitations Artisanales et Semi-Mécanisées (DEMAS).
ANEEMAS becomes SONASP
Following the liberalisation of gold sales and the installation of private buying outlets, which led to a fall in gold production statistics and a significant loss of tax revenue, the government set up the Brigade Anti-Fraude de l’Or (BNAF) in January 2008. With the same aim of better managing the mining issue, the government set up ANEEMAS, whose main task was to supervise and monitor artisanal and semi-mechanised gold mining activities. Some of the achievements of these reforms include the creation of a ministry dedicated to this sector of activity, the installation of pilot mining centres, and the evaluation and improvement of the technique for using mercury in artisanal mining.
ANEEMAS was transformed into the Société Nationale des Substances Précieuses (SONASP) on 09 August 2023. This transformation limits SONASP’s activities to the production, marketing and processing of gold. The supervision and monitoring of artisanal and semi-mechanised gold mining is the prerogative of DEMAS.
Who is Ki Seka?
Ki SEKA is a mining engineer. He has held a number of positions, including Director of Operations at Société minière Coréo-burkinabé (SOMICOB), Director of Promotion de la Petite Mine (DPPM), Inspector General of Activités Minières et Énergétiques (IGAME). He has also held the position of Director General of Mines, Geology and Quarries (DGMGC), Technical Adviser to the Minister in charge of Mines. From 1998 to 2006, KI SEKA was Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Bureau des Mines et de la Géologie du Burkina Faso (BUMIGEB). In the private sector, he was Project Manager for the National Director of the mining company SEMAFO. Since 2020, he has been Special Advisor to the Country Director of Endeavour Mining.
Tiba Kassamse OUEDRAOGO
Mines Actu Burkina
