Every year, billions of dollars are lost in Africa due to illegal mining. The situation persists in part because States essentially develop national strategies to combat it, which do not take into account the transnational nature of the problem.
Regional cooperation can improve the effectiveness of state interventions in the fight against illegal artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASM) in Africa. This is the point of view shared in an ECOWAS report published in February 2024, given the observation of the relative failure of the repressive measures implemented for years.
Titled “Lessons Learned from West Africa’s Regional Experiences in the Gold Sector,” the report addresses a thorny issue for the sub-region. It should be noted that in West Africa, illegal gold mining affects all gold-producing countries. In September 2022, a report from the Intergovernmental Forum on Mines (IGF) assessed the scale of gold smuggling for the year 2019 at more than $120 million in three countries in the sub-region, Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso.
In addition to the loss of income that this represents, illegal gold mining also fuels the coffers of extremist groups active in West Africa and harms agricultural production.
Ecofin Agency
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