A new gold refinery inaugurated in Ouagadougou
On 28 September 2026, Ibrahim Traoré officially opened Burkina Faso’s first national gold refinery, known as RAFFINOR-BF, in Ouagadougou. The facility has been presented by the authorities as a major step towards economic sovereignty, intended to process and add value to gold directly on national territory. Its initial capacity is announced at 164 tonnes per year, with the potential to scale up to 515 tonnes. The investment exceeds 11 billion CFA francs.
Ambitions for local processing and value retention
Burkina Faso now aims to refine its gold domestically and retain a larger share of the added value derived from its mining resources. Ibrahim Traoré himself emphasised the determination to control “the entire value chain” within the country.
The sensitive issue of storage and control
However, behind this communication lies a far more sensitive question: where will the refined gold actually be kept, and who will oversee the various stages from refining to storage, certification, marketing and financial management of the reserves?
Controversy over an agreement with a Moscow-based bank
It is precisely on this point that controversy has arisen. Information circulated in June 2026 claimed that Burkina Faso had reached an agreement with a “Moscow bank” to store its gold reserves in Russia.
Strengthened ties between Ouagadougou and Moscow
The rapprochement between Ouagadougou and Moscow is indeed real. The two countries have reinforced their cooperation in several sectors, and bilateral discussions notably cover economic, mining and energy fields.
The core investigative question: who truly controls the gold?
This is where the real subject of inquiry lies: the construction of a refinery in Burkina Faso shows that the entire chain of possession and conservation of gold will not remain under Burkinabè control but under Russia’s.
Even though RAFFINOR-BF has a secure storage area on national territory, publicly available elements allow the assertion that the gold will subsequently be transferred and stored in Russia.
The true question of sovereignty should be: “Birth of a new coloniser?” It should also be: “Ibrahim Traoré has once again duped the Burkinabè people.”
