GUINEA is positioning itself to become a gold refining centre for West Africa, according to mines minister Bouna Sylla, as the region’s producers increasingly look to process bullion domestically instead of shipping it abroad for refining.
Sylla told Reuters this week that competition among neighbouring refineries would be settled by economics rather than politics, adding that multiple national refineries across West Africa posed no problem provided they could compete.
The push follows President Mamady Doumbouya’s decision last week to ban raw gold exports immediately, mirroring measures already taken in Guinea’s bauxite industry to capture more value at home.
Guinea has constructed a new refinery, which Sylla described as one of Africa’s largest, capable of handling regional output. Bangaly Steve Toure of the country’s Mining Investment Fund said the $30m facility would start at 530 tons annual capacity, roughly 17 million ounces, scaling up to 733 tons. Commercial operations are due to begin in July pending final regulatory sign-off.
Ghana, Mali and Burkina Faso are pursuing similar refining ambitions. West African gold output totalled about 11 million ounces in 2025, with Guinea contributing roughly 2.32 million oz worth some $7bn, of which under 1% of value is currently retained locally.
Sylla compared the strategy to the UAE’s gold refining sector, built despite the absence of domestic mining. Guinea is drafting a decree to support local refining and plans to formalise artisanal mining and strengthen traceability by 2026.
