The 5th edition of the West African Mining Week (Semaine des Activités Minières d’Afrique de l’Ouest – SAMAO) aims to reassure our current partners and attract other investors to this sector, which is one of the most resilient in our economy in the current context. Studies show that many countries with abundant natural resources generally have difficulty transforming this abundance into development opportunities for their populations. This phenomenon is even referred to in economic literature as the “curse of natural resources”. To reverse this trend, the governments of producer countries are increasingly developing initiatives aimed at improving the integration of the extractive sector into national economic development policies. It is with this in mind that the central theme of the 2023 edition of SAMAO, “Mining in Africa: what strategy for impacting the development of local economies?” is evocative and highly relevant. In Burkina Faso, we have already undertaken a number of reforms to maximise the impact of mining on improving the socio-economic conditions of the population through the National Local Content Strategy adopted in 2021. This strategy focuses primarily on improving the supply of local goods and services to the extractive industries, developing local human capital in the mining sector, adding value to mining products locally and promoting national investors in the mining sector. It should also be noted that the socio-economic data show a resilient business sector with satisfactory indicators despite the very difficult security context. Indeed, by 31 December 2022, our country had thirteen (13) gold mines and one (01) zinc mine, four of which were shut down, with a total production of 57,645 tonnes of gold and 46,789 tonnes of zinc. Direct revenue to the State budget will rise from 430.916 billion FCFA in 2021 to 540.984 billion FCFA in 2022, an increase of 110.068 billion FCFA (25.54%) in absolute terms. Export revenues from the mining sector will rise from 2,806.1 billion FCFA in 2021 to 2,841.9 billion FCFA in 2022, an increase of 35.8 billion FCFA. In addition to gold, other substances that are just as important to our country’s socio-economic development are mined, in particular quarries (granite, dolomitic limestone, tuff, etc.). The quarrying sub-sector has also seen a resurgence in activity in recent years, with seventy-one (71) permanent quarrying permits listed, thirty-five (35) of which are in operation. Total declared production from quarries in operation has risen from 1,486,678 m3 in 2021 to 1,458,000 m3 in 2022.
This article was excerpted from the magazine Spécial #SAMAO2023
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