“On 31 December 2022, Burkina Faso had one zinc mine and 13 gold mines, 4 of which were shut down, for a total production of 57,645 tonnes of gold and 46,789 tonnes of zinc”, explained Jean Baptiste Kaboré, Chairman of the National Organising Committee of the West African Mining Week (Semaine des Activités minières d’Afrique de l’Ouest – SAMAO 2023). He was speaking on 5 September 2023 at a press conference organised as part of the organisation of the 5th edition of SAMAO 2023.
He added that direct revenue to the State budget has risen from more than 430 billion FCFA in 2021 to 540 billion FCFA in 2022, an increase of more than 110 billion FCFA.
Jean Baptiste Kaboré also states that export revenues linked to the mining sector have risen from 2,806 billion FCFA in 2021 to 2,841 billion FCFA in 2022, an increase of 35.8 billion FCFA.
“As for the direct jobs created by the mining companies, they are estimated at around 19,000, without taking into account the indirect jobs generated by the exploitation and exploration activities”, he adds.
He also explained that, in addition to gold, other substances are mined that are just as important for Burkina Faso’s socio-economic development, including quarried substances such as granite, dolomitic limestone and tuff.
According to the Chairman, the quarrying sub-sector has also seen a resurgence in activity in recent years, with 71 permanent quarrying permits listed, 35 of which are in operation. The declared volume of quarry production has risen from over 1 million m3 in 2021 to over 1.4 million m3 in 2022. The service revenue generated by quarrying has risen from more than 900 million FCFA in 2021 to more than 1 billion FCFA in 2022.
“Mining helps to reduce poverty and improve the country’s trade balance. However, it has to be said that in recent years there has been a disruption to mining and geological and mining research activities, due in particular to the security crisis,” said the chairman of the organising committee.
He believes that in this context, it is imperative to maintain a good level of competitiveness in Burkina Faso’s mining sector, with a view to making it a genuine lever for sustainable socio-economic development. This will also require the regular organisation of promotional activities such as SAMAO in order to attract more investment.
The 5th SAMAO will be held from 28 to 30 September 2023 in Ouagadougou, at the Ouaga 2000 international conference centre. The theme of the event is: “Mining in Africa: what strategy for impacting the development of local economies? “
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