WEST African Resources (WAF) is facing a heavier government and regulatory burden in Burkina Faso, where it operates the Sanbrado and Kiaka gold mines.
The Australian-listed miner paid A$181.5m in royalties to the Burkina Faso government in the first half of 2026. It also set aside A$21m for unsettled regulatory assessments and reported a A$7m increase in VAT owed by the state.
WAF said its average government royalty cost rose by A$460/oz from the same period last year, reflecting a roughly 56% rise in its average realised gold price and a new royalty regime that took effect in April 2025.
Before the change, the royalty rate was capped at 7% when gold traded at US$2,000/oz or more. It is now 7% between $2,000/oz and $3,000/oz, rising by one percentage point for every US$500 increase in the gold price above $3,000/oz.
The A$21m provision relates to assessments received by one of WAF’s group companies for alleged regulatory breaches in 2022. The alleged breaches were neither environmental nor safety related and remained unsettled at the date of the report.
WAF said its Burkina Faso companies faced the risk of fines for alleged breaches of laws and regulations “that are introduced and amended over time”. It made no provision for potential future regulatory penalties.
WAF also paid A$67.2m to the Burkina Faso government, representing its 15% share of profits from the group’s local operations.
Burkina Faso has been ruled by a military junta since 2020 and has taken a more interventionist approach to mining. A new mining code adopted in 2024 raised the state’s free-carry stake in new projects to 15% and scrapped some tax exemptions.
The government has also sought a larger interest in WAF’s Kiaka mine. MiningMX reported in April that state-owned mining company SOPAMIB had been authorised to acquire a further 25% of Kiaka for A$175m, taking the state’s total interest to 40%.
WAF had proposed an alternative arrangement aimed at increasing government participation and revenue from new and previously closed mining projects.
The company said it was still in talks with SOPAMIB to finalise the transaction. WAF’s interest in Kiaka will fall from 85% to 60% once the deal is completed.
The higher government costs came alongside strong first-half results. Revenue rose to A$1.46bn from A$477.3m, while profit after tax more than doubled to A$436.6m.
After the period ended, WAF declared a special dividend of 20 Australian cents a share. Operating cash flow rose to A$689.8m from A$159.5m and the group ended June with net cash of A$488.2m.
Gold sales more than doubled to 214,883 ounces, while its average realised gold price rose 56% to $4,744/oz.
WAF is targeting 5.3 million oz of gold production between 2026 and 2035, averaging about 533,000 oz a year. Sanbrado is expected to average 256,000 oz a year and Kiaka 277,000 oz.
“With two large, low-cost and long-life gold production centres at Sanbrado and Kiaka, WAF is positioned to build on its performance through the second half of 2026 and beyond,” said executive chairman and CEO Richard Hyde.
Pre-production mining is “progressing well” at Toega, while WAF plans more than 100,000 metres of exploration drilling in 2026.
