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Burkina Faso: artisanal gold-mining reorganisation

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This dossier follows the reorganisation of artisanal gold-mining sites in Burkina Faso, Faso SANU’s role and the arrangements announced by the authorities.

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Work at a mining site in Burkina Faso in November 2012. Illustrative archive photograph, with no established link to Faso SANU. Tissoufou, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Work at a mining site in Burkina Faso in November 2012. Illustrative archive photograph, with no established link to Faso SANU. Tissoufou, CC BY-SA 4.0. — Tissoufou / Wikimedia Commons — CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) ; 23 novembre 2012 ; version réduite.

Where things stand

On 5 November 2026, the government announces three decrees covering illegal mining sites and creating Faso SANU. Implementation on the ground remains to be documented.

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Reported information

Burkina Faso creates Faso SANU to reorganise artisanal gold mining

Burkina Faso’s Council of Ministers adopted three decrees on artisanal mining on 5 November 2026, including the creation of state company Faso SANU. The framework particularly targets illegal, disputed or strategically important sites, according to the government account.

Work at a mining site in Burkina Faso in November 2012. Illustrative archive photograph, with no established link to Faso SANU. Tissoufou, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Work at a mining site in Burkina Faso in November 2012. Illustrative archive photograph, with no established link to Faso SANU. Tissoufou, CC BY-SA 4.0. — Tissoufou / Wikimedia Commons — CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) ; 23 novembre 2012 ; version réduite.

Faso SANU will be owned equally by the National Precious Substances Company and the Public Treasury, Mines Minister Yacouba Zabre Gouba said. It is intended to act as the state’s technical vehicle for implementing the reorganisation.

The government also announces rules governing exploitation at these sites. The decisions set out a new legal framework; they do not establish how many sites have actually been reorganised or what effects workers have already experienced.

Sources 4