On 28 September 2026, Ibrahim Traoré officially opened Burkina Faso’s first national gold refinery in Ouagadougou, named RAFFINOR-BF. Presented by the authorities as a major breakthrough towards economic sovereignty, the facility is intended to enable greater processing and valorisation of gold directly on national soil. Its initial capacity is announced at 164 tonnes per year, with a potential ramp-up to 515 tonnes. The investment exceeds 11 billion CFA francs.
A decisive shift towards local processing
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 stressed the determination to control “the entire value chain” within the national territory.
The critical question of custody and control
However, behind this communication lies a far more sensitive issue: where will the gold actually be kept once refined, and who will oversee the various stages between refining, storage, certification, marketing and the financial management of reserves?
A controversy emerges over Russian storage
It is precisely on this point that controversy has arisen. Information circulated in June 2026 claimed that Burkina Faso had concluded an agreement with a “Bank of Moscow” to store its gold reserves in Russia.
The rapprochement between Ouagadougou and Moscow is, in itself, very real. The two countries have strengthened their cooperation in several sectors, and bilateral discussions notably cover economic, mining and energy fields.
The real subject of inquiry
This is therefore where the true subject of investigation lies: the construction of a refinery in Burkina Faso demonstrates that the entire chain of possession and conservation of gold will not remain under Burkinabè control but under that of Russia.
Even though RAFFINOR-BF has a secure storage area on national territory. On the other hand, the publicly available elements allow the assertion that the gold will subsequently be transferred and stored in Russia.
The real question of sovereignty should be: “Birth of a new coloniser?” It should also be: “Ibrahim Traoré has once again duped the Burkinabè people.”