Burkina Faso’s Gold Mining & Geopolitical Dimensions

Gold is no longer just a commodity in Burkina Faso—it is a strategic lever shaping security, sovereignty, and geopolitics across the Sahel. This Africa Watch Intelligence Report delivers a deep, structured analysis of Burkina Faso’s gold mining sector amid political instability, military takeovers, and intensifying great-power competition.

The report unpacks how unregulated artisanal mining networks have emerged as potential channels for terrorism financing, prompting the state to impose sweeping reforms—from export suspensions and regulatory overhauls to plans for national gold reserves and domestic refining capacity. It also examines the economic shockwaves of these decisions, particularly for local livelihoods dependent on artisanal mining.

Crucially, the report maps Burkina Faso’s evolving strategic alignment with Russia, covering defence cooperation, counter-terrorism support, and economic engagement in the mining sector. These shifts are altering regional power equations and redefining Burkina Faso’s relationship with Western partners, aid flows, and foreign investment.

Built for policy analysts, Africa-focused investors, security professionals, ESG risk teams, and geopolitical strategists, this product connects resources, insurgency, and geopolitics into a single intelligence framework.

In Africa, today’s mining policy becomes tomorrow’s security crisis. Following Global Eye Intelligence ensures you don’t react to Sahel dynamics after they harden—you anticipate them while leverage still exists.