250 million FCFA is the amount of the guarantee fund set up by the PlanetGold Burkina project and Coris Bank International SA for the mining industry in Burkina Faso. The fund will support players in the sector in acquiring equipment to help them increase their output. The official ceremony to launch the fund’s activities took place on Thursday 25 January 2024. During the ceremony, PlanetGOLD Burkina and Coris Bank International SA signed a memorandum of understanding.
Stéphane Tapsoba, Deputy Managing Director in charge of operations at Coris Bank, told the launch ceremony that his bank can finance projects up to 750 million FCFA, i.e. 3 times the initial amount of 250 million FCFA. According to him, this fund, which is intended as a support mechanism for artisanal miners, will enable Coris Bank to have a multiplier effect. Hence the satisfaction of Saidou Kabré, Coordinator of the PlanetGold Burkina project, who believes that this guarantee fund, known as the “Revolving Fund to Support the Artisanal Mining Sector”, will only support formally constituted cooperatives of artisanal miners. “The first condition for benefiting from this fund is to be formalised,” he said. The fund is being mobilised by PlanetGold Burkina, with the support of its technical and financial partners. Projects interested in the artisanal mining sector and institutions such as the World Bank are supporting the initiative. Saidou Kabre explains that this protocol concerns a pilot phase extending over a period of 12 months.
Stéphane Tapsoba went on to say that players in the artisanal mining sector have particular difficulty accessing bank finance to acquire equipment to increase their production. He was convinced that the revolving fund to support the artisanal mining sector would give beneficiaries better access to finance to acquire modern working equipment. All of which will increase yields and avoid the use of mercury in gold extraction on the various formalised sites.
Jean Baptiste Kabore, Secretary General of the Ministry of Mines, said that the Ministry appreciates the PlanetGold Burkina project and has been supporting it since 2019. He announced that this project is part of the process of formalising and organising artisanal activities, which involve millions of Burkinabé people, particularly young people and women. Jean Baptiste Kabore hopes that the spin-offs from this fund will benefit all players in the sector and have an impact on the national economy.
The fund’s activities were launched on Thursday 25 January 2024 at an official ceremony at which a memorandum of understanding was signed between the PlanetGold Burkina project and Coris Bank International SA.
Tiba Kassamse OUEDRAOGO
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