- Presenting the advanced version of the technical dossier
- Reinforce the elements of information relevant to the finalisation of the dossier
- Validate or reformulate the incentives set out in the dossier
The mining industry is an important sector in Burkina Faso. It provides jobs and income for the State as well as for the population. It is important that this sector be framed. It is for this reason that the Alliance for Responsible Mining (ARM) and the NGO Impact in the implementation of the project “Foundation for Peace in the Artisanal Gold Mining Sector in Burkina Faso”, organised a technical meeting with actors of the artisanal mining sector. Held on 25 November 2022 in Ouagadougou, the meeting mobilised several actors in the sector such as representatives of the mining cadastre, the National Agency for the Supervision of Artisanal and Semi-Mechanised Mining (ANEEMAS), and the chamber of gold buying comptoirs.
The objective of this meeting was to present the advanced version of the technical dossier which sets out the obstacles and incentives to the promotion of legal trade in artisanal gold. It also deepened the relevant information for the finalisation of the dossier and proceeded to the validation or reformulation of the incentives set out in the dossier.
This meeting was held within the framework of the Foundations for Peace project, which aims at the economic empowerment and financial inclusion of men and women from mining communities in the Centre-North (Korsimoro commune) and Centre-West (Réo and Kyon communes) regions. In addition, the project continues to build the capacity of stakeholders to combat informal trade and promote legal trade in artisanal gold.
One of the project’s axes seeks to identify and promote the conditions that can encourage the practice of legal and responsible trade in artisanal gold. Participatory research has been carried out, data collection has taken place, and a workshop to officially launch the project in Ouagadougou brought together artisanal mining stakeholders. The present national technical meeting in Ouagadougou is intended to be complementary to the previous ones, in a participatory and inclusive approach of the actors.
During the presentation, the advanced version of the technical dossier was presented by the focal point of the NGO Impact, Hamado Derra. It was a question of raising awareness among artisanal miners and industrial mining companies, investment supervision, lowering the taxes for the Artisanal Exploitation Authorisation and the Semi-Mechanised Exploitation Permit, inclusive financial strategies for artisanal miners, organisation of artisanal miners into cooperatives, etc.
Following the presentation of the technical file, contributions and discussions on the main concerns of the mining sector followed.
In his intervention, the Director of the Mining Cadastre Regulation of the Ministry of Mines, Dodbzanga Tousma Gilbert, stressed that the Ministry of Mines was making efforts. He pointed out that the issue of artisanal mining authorisations cannot be granted without the concerted opinion of the communal authorities.
In addition to the Chamber of Gold Buying and Selling Comptoirs, several other participants were interested in the status of ANEEMAS.
At the end of the meeting, it emerged that it is more necessary than ever to organise the sector to benefit from the advantages of bank financing. It was also discussed that the administrative burden is an obstacle to the development of the sector.
Rachid Ouedraogo
#Mines_Actu_Burkina
