Africa really seems to have found a solution to deal with the enormous losses which have reached up to 270,000 billion due to illegal gold mining.
Indeed, faced with the financial hemorrhage caused by the illegal exploitation of gold, estimated at 270,000 billion CFA francs in 2022, several nations in Africa have developed a strategy as audacious as it is promising: the establishment of gold mining programs. purchases of gold by their central banks.
This initiative, welcomed by the World Gold Council (WGC) in its latest report « Silence is Golden »is a major step forward in the governance of the continent’s gold resources.
This is already reflected in Tanzania’s position.
Indeed, a pioneer in the field, it is committed to acquiring 20% of the gold held by local miners and traders, at the international market price.
An approach that resonates in Nigeria, Ghana and Uganda, where similar programs have been established.
The stakes are high. And for good reason, in 2022, no less than 435 tonnes of gold left the African continent illegally, representing a value of 30.7 billion dollars, according to the NGO SWISSAID.
This systematic looting, mainly from artisanal and small-scale mining (ASGM), not only fuels organized crime, but also deprives States of valuable resources for their development.
The successes recorded in the Philippines and Mongolia demonstrate the potential of these programs.
In the Asian archipelago, the value of gold mined by ASGM increased eightfold between 1997 and 2011, from $76.6 million to $589.4 million.
Mongolia saw even more dramatic growth, with its ASGM gold sales jumping from 0.01 tonnes in 2012 to more than 12 tonnes in 2017.
This approach has a triple advantage: it strengthens the foreign exchange reserves of States, guarantees fair income for artisanal miners, and effectively combats illegal circuits.
The WGC emphasizes that these programs can also encourage the adoption of more sustainable environmental practices and facilitate access to legitimate financing for mining communities.
