[SMM Gold Flash] Burkina Faso inaugurated RAFFINOR-BF in Ouagadougou on 28 September, the government and mines ministry said. The ministry reported that officials observed the refining of initial gold bars during a tour of the plant. It puts the first phase’s theoretical refining capacity at 164 tonnes a year; an additional phase would raise that to 515 tonnes a year. The government says the facility cost about CFA11 billion and was financed mainly through the state precious-metals company SONASP and private partners.
The opening marks a step in Burkina Faso’s effort to refine industrial and artisanal gold domestically and retain more processing value. Capacity is a design figure, however: neither the inauguration nor the observed first bars establishes annual throughput, sustained operation or sufficient supply. Feedstock collection, refinery utilisation and the proposed expansion remain the figures to watch.
