A record seizure of 28.6 kg of gold was made in Burkina Faso. Three individuals were arrested while trying to cross the Togolese border with this gold hidden in their clothes. A look back at a traffic with complex ramifications which weighs heavily on the Burkinabè economy.
Burkinabe customs carried out a spectacular dragnet on Tuesday, December 17, 2024. No less than 28.6 kg of gold, with an estimated value of 1.43 billion CFA francs (approximately 2.18 million euros), were seized from three individuals who were preparing to cross the border between Burkina Faso and Togo. This record seizure highlights the scale of gold trafficking which is plaguing this West African country, the leading gold producer in Africa outside South Africa. A look back at the underside of this underground gold industry.
Well-functioning traffic
According to a source close to the investigation, the three suspects arrested are links in a vast network of traffickers which operates between Burkina Faso and neighboring countries. The seized gold, carefully concealed in the smugglers’ clothing, likely came from artisanal and semi-mechanized mining in the country’s gold mines. A sector in theory suspended since February 2024 by the ruling junta, with the aim of “cleaning up” the sector.
In reality, illegal gold mining and trafficking has never stopped. Attracted by the promise of quick income, thousands of Burkinabes continue to dig in often dangerous conditions to extract the precious yellow metal. Gold which then flows into neighboring countries, notably Togo, completely escaping any state control and taxation.
This suspension follows the need for sanitation in the (mining) sector and reflects the government’s desire to better organize the marketing of gold and other precious substances.
Yacouba Zabré Gouba, Burkina Faso Minister of Energy and Mines in February 2024
A colossal shortfall for the Burkinabè state
This large-scale smuggling represents a huge loss of income for Burkina Faso, while gold is the country’s main source of export. Official figures estimate that gold production, from industrial and artisanal mines, contributes 14% to state revenue. But in reality, a large part of the gold produced escapes all control and only enriches the smugglers.
- 17 industrial gold mines in Burkina Faso, including 5 shut down due to jihadist violence
- Around 10 tonnes of gold produced per year by artisanal mining (official figures)
- Country’s first gold refinery inaugurated in 2023, targeting 150 tonnes of pure gold per year
Despite the recent opening of a gold refinery, supposed to better control flows and maintain added value in Burkina Faso, trafficking persists. At issue: poverty, lack of control and porous borders in a highly destabilized region. Without an in-depth clean-up of the sector and real economic alternatives, gold trafficking still has a bright future ahead of it.
A struggle that intensifies despite the obstacles
Faced with this scourge, the Burkinabè authorities are increasing initiatives to stem the traffic. In addition to suspending artisanal gold export authorizations, in February 2023 the government requisitioned “for public necessity” 200 kg of gold produced by the subsidiary of a Canadian mining group. A radical way to regain control over national production.
But in a country undermined by jihadist violence, endemic poverty and corruption, the fight against gold smuggling resembles a fight of David against Goliath. Only concerted, long-term action, involving more equitable economic development and credible alternatives to gold panning, will be able to put an end to trafficking. Until then, Burkinabè gold will continue to evaporate into nature…
