MALI began construction of a new Russia-backed gold refinery on Monday, which the West African country’s military leader said would take it closer to asserting control over its natural resources, said Reuters.
The 200-ton capacity facility, in which Mali has a controlling stake, will be built in partnership with Russia’s Yadran Group and a Swiss investment company.
Mali’s interim president Colonel Assimi Goita said at the groundbreaking ceremony in Senou, outside the capital Bamako, that the refinery addresses decades of lost revenue from exporting unprocessed gold.
“Since 1980, Mali’s gold has been exported for refining and sale to countries such as the United Arab Emirates, South Africa, and Switzerland,” Goita said. “This deprives our country of substantial revenues that could be used for the development of its economy.”
The refinery reflects a broader regional shift across the Sahel, where Guinea, Niger and Burkina Faso have also revised mining codes to mandate local processing, said Reuters. Goita said last year that all mining companies will be required to process their gold domestically under a revised mining code, the newswire said.
Once operational, the facility will process all gold produced in Mali into dore bars before export, with capacity nearly four times Mali’s annual production. Yadran President Irek Salikhov said the refinery will become “a regional center for processing gold extracted not only in Mali, but also in neighboring countries.”
The project is part of Goita’s sweeping mining reforms since seizing power in 2021 and severing Western partnerships. A Malian court this month placed Canadian miner Barrick’s Loulo-Gounkoto complex under temporary state control over tax disputes.
West Africa lacks functional certified gold refineries despite being a major producer, leading to billions lost through smuggling.
