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On June 12, 2025, Burkina Faso completed something most countries only talk about. The government took full control of five gold mining operations, without the involvement of foreign investors. These were not empty fields waiting to be explored. These were active, producing mines. Some of them had been run by Canadian firms for over a decade. Now, every ounce of gold pulled from the ground is managed by a new state-owned company, SOPAMIB. And just like that, Canada was out.
The decision was not sudden. For months, there were signs that the Burkinabé government was no longer willing to let foreign firms dominate its most valuable resources. In August 2024, a mining code revision was passed. Then came the creation of a national mining company. But few expected the government to move this fast or to go this far.
Until recently, Canada had been one of the largest players in West African mining. Its influence was so deep that some of the region’s largest mining projects had boards and executives based in Toronto. But the balance has now changed. Burkina Faso has rejected the old rules of extraction and replaced them with state-led strategies aimed at controlling value, production, and profit.
Burkina Faso is Africa's fourth largest gold producer, producing more than 57 tons of gold in 2023. At current gold prices, that is roughly $3.8 billion worth of precious metal coming out of the ground every single year. However, most of that wealth were always boarding flights to Toronto, Montreal, and other international financial centers while Burkina Faso remained one of the world's poorest countries.
Immediately Ibrahim Traoré got into power, he started asking the uncomfortable questions. "How exactly does a country sitting on billions of dollars worth of gold struggle to fund basic infrastructure? Why are mining executives in Canada getting richer from our gold than the people who actually live above it?" The answers he found led to the most dramatic resource takeover in modern African history.
It did not happen through protests. There were no viral headlines. No breaking news ticker on international television. Yet, within a year, Canadian mining firms lost their foothold in one of West Africa’s richest gold zones. The process began with signals, low-key but unmistakable.
TRANSCRIPT
on June 12th, 2025.
My people do not need promises. They need fields to feed their children and schools to shape their dreams. I am no hero, just a son of this soil, working to give my nation the dignity it Pinapaso completed something most countries only talk about. The government took full control of five gold mining operations without the involvement of foreign investors. These were not empty fields waiting to be explored. These were active producing mines. Some of them had been run by Canadian firms for over a decade. Now, every ounce of gold pulled from the ground is managed by a new state-owned company, Soapam. And just like that, Canada was out. Before we continue, hit that like button to help us beat the The decision was not sudden. For months, there were signs that the Burkinab government was no longer willing to let foreign firms dominate its most valuable resources. In August 2024, a mining code revision was passed. Then came the creation of a national mining company. But few expected the government to move this fast or to go this far. Until recently, Canada had been one of the largest players in West African mining. Its influence was so deep that some of the region's largest mining projects had boards and executives based in Toronto. But the balance has now changed. Burkina Faso has rejected the old rules of extraction and replaced them with state-led strategies aimed at controlling value, production, and profit. Burkina Faso is Africa's fourth largest gold producer, producing more than 57 tons of gold in 2023. At current gold prices, that is roughly $3 bill800 million 0 worth of precious metal coming out of the ground every single year. However, most of that wealth were always boarding flights to Toronto, Montreal, and other international financial centers. While Burkina Faso remained one of the world's poorest countries. Immediately, Ibrahim Trayori got into power, he started asking the uncomfortable questions. How exactly does a country sitting on billions of dollars worth of gold struggle to fund basic infrastructure? Why are mining executives in Canada getting richer from our gold than the people who actually live above it? The answers he found led to the most dramatic resource takeover in modern African history. It did not happen through protests. There were no viral headlines, no breaking news ticker on international television. Yet within a year, Canadian mining firms lost their foothold in one of West Africa's richest gold zones. The process began with signals, low-key but unmistakable. In early 2024, Burkina Faso's transitional government started tightening its grip on the mining sector. New policies were rolled out that placed more decision-making power in the hands of local authorities. Bureaucratic hurdles increased for foreign firms. New taxes were discussed. Licenses were reviewed. Then came the game changer, the revision of the National Mining Code in August 2024. That was the turning point. The revised code did not just update the rules, it rewrote them. A mandatory 10% stake for the state in all new mining operations was introduced. But the real surprise was that under the new code, the government reserved the right to increase its share to up to 70% in strategic cases. It was clear that the targets were the large-scale gold producers, majority of which were foreign, especially Canadian. Within months, operations owned or operated by companies like Simopho, Endeavor Mining, and others began facing resistance. Contracts were re-examined. Environmental audits were demanded. License renewals were delayed. Behind the scenes, there was pressure to hand over assets voluntarily. By the end of 2024, the government made it official. Five major gold mining operations, all previously foreignrun, would now be operated by a new national company, Soapibi. short for cicet de patrimon minor dubkina. Some Canadian firms did not fight back. They did not file international claims or go to arbitration. They walked away. Fortuna silvermines, a major player with projects across Latin America and West Africa, issued a statement in May 2025 saying it was shifting its investment focus to Guinea. It did not mention Burkina Faso by name, but it did not have to. It was obvious that the conditions in Burkina Faso were no longer suitable for Canadian mining firms. Why did they not push back? There are several reasons. Bkina Faso was not offering compensation or buyouts. It was a clean state takeover, challenging that in international courts would be expensive and politically risky, especially since many of these firms operated in other parts of Africa and did not want to risk losing more licenses elsewhere. But most importantly, Burkin Afaso simply did not blink. The government did not meet the firm's halfway. It did not offer middle ground solutions. Instead, it made it clear resources under Burkinab soil would now benefit Burkinab people. First, foreign participation would be allowed, but only under new rules that gave the state full control. The Canadian government has also faced criticism at home and abroad for the behavior of its mining companies in Africa. Allegations of environmental degradation, labor violations, and unfair profit sharing have followed Canadian firms for years. If they had aggressively defended corporate interests in Bkina Faso, it would have reignited these debates and potentially sabotaging Canada's global image. So, it stayed quiet. The silence was not approval, but it was not resistance either. It was a signal that Canada understood that the ground had shifted. Burkina Fasa was no longer negotiating from a position of dependency. It was setting the terms and Canada could not challenge that reality. What followed was like an intense shuffle where Canadian companies found themselves out of the game with no place left to sit in Burkinaaso's mining scene. That is how Canada left. No ceremony, negotiation or fight, just the quiet sound of contracts expiring and offices closing. However, it is interesting watching how these companies are changing the narratives about their forced exits. They talk about security concerns and regulatory uncertainty as if they are the victims of some unfortunate misunderstanding. But the reality is simpler. They are being fired from jobs they thought were permanent. Burke and Afaso planned and executed their mining takeover. It was a strategic economic warfare and not some spontaneous act of resource nationalism. It is part of a broader agenda of true freedom from neoc colonial powers. And the results were immediate. Share prices of foreign mining companies started declining the moment investors realized what was happening. Billions in market capitalization evaporated as the reality sank in that the era of easy African mining was over. Government figures indicate state controlled initiatives collected over 8 tons in 2024 and more than 11 tons in Q1 2025 alone. primarily from formalized small-cale operations. These figures represent gold that is staying in Burkina Foso instead of enriching foreign shareholders. Think about what 11 tons of gold in 3 months means at current prices. That is roughly $780 million. 0 cents worth of gold collected by state entities in just the first quarter of 2025. money that is now funding schools, hospitals, infrastructure, and economic development. Instead of dividend payments to pension funds in Toronto, when foreign mining firms left, they did not leave behind empty pits or ghost towns. They left behind fully operational mines, some producing hundreds of thousands of ounces of gold per year. Rather than auction these off to the next foreign investor, the Burkanabi government had other plans. They created Soapaib. Soapamib was not an afterthought. It was not a shell company built to manage paperwork. It was designed from day one as a functional replacement for the large multinational firms that once controlled the country's gold sector. The full name So de patrimoa min dubkina means burkina mining heritage corporation but there is nothing symbolic about what it does. It holds mining licenses and operates extraction sites. It also manages logistics, staffing, transport, and export. In short, soapib is a mining company. The company was founded with two goals. First, to keep production stable during the transition so that there will be no shutdowns or missed targets. Gold had to keep flowing, not for foreign shareholders, but for the state. Second, to create an institutional backbone for a long-term state-led mining industry. To do that, SOAPAIB absorbed local technical staff who had previously worked under Canadian firms, geologists, engineers, plant operators, and finance teams. Many of these professionals were Burkinab nationals already doing the groundwork while decisions were made abroad. SOAPA MIB brought decision-making and operations under one roof. And for the first time, that roof was in Wagadugu, not Toronto. What makes Soapamib different from past national mining experiments in Africa is that it did not start from scratch. It took over fully built mines with trained personnel and operational systems already in place. But running a mining empire is expensive. Soib did not pretend otherwise. Instead of relying solely on state funds, the company built partnerships with private sector logistics firms and regional contractors. It issued contracts to Burkconay companies for hollage, maintenance, and security. In doing so, it pulled dozens of previously sidelineed local businesses into the mining economy. The company also renegotiated export terms. Under previous regimes, most gold exports were routed through foreign refineries. Soapamib began talks with other African states, especially Mali and Niger, to explore building a regional refining hub. The goal was to add value at home, not abroad. Dopamib is still young and the risks are real. No one denies that. But what makes it notable is its function, not its age. In less than a year, it replaced a network of multi-billion dollar corporations, kept production flowing, and rewired the entire gold value chain inside Bkina Faso's borders. It may look like an alternative to Canadian firms. But it is a rejection of dependency built brick by brick, sight by sight, and staffed by the same professionals who once worked under foreign logos. Burkina Faso now has a mining company it owns and more importantly a mining company it controls. Bkina Faso is not acting alone. They are part of a coordinated regional revolution that is rewriting the entire playbook of African resource control. Like their neighbors Mali and Niger, Bkina Faso is pushing for greater control over its resources. three countries and former colonies that have decided together to stop being the world's resource suppliers and start being their own resource powers. This coordination is not coincidental. Mali has some of the world's richest gold deposits. Nair controls uranium reserves that power nuclear reactors across Europe. Burkina Faso sits on massive mineral wealth. Separately, any one of these countries could be pressured, isolated, or economically strangled by international mining interests. Together, they represent a formidable block that controls resources essential to global supply chains. This newfound unity is not political. It is operational. By coordinating their strategies, these countries are not only resisting external pressure, but also proving that they can manage the complex machinery of resource extraction on their own terms. Burkina Faso's takeover of its mining sector challenged the ownership structures and exposed the false narrative that expertise must always come from abroad. One of the most persistent lies in international mining has always been that African countries lack the technical expertise to run modern mining operations. This lie has been used to justify decades of foreign control and minimal technology transfer. But Bkina Foso just completely demolished that narrative. The same engineers who extracted gold for Canadian companies are now extracting gold for state entities. The same geologists who mapped deposits for foreign shareholders are now mapping them for national development. The same metallurgists who optimized production for multinational corporations are now optimizing production for their own country. The expertise was always there. What was missing was control. One of the most brilliant aspects of Bkina Fazo's mining strategy is how they have integrated small-scale traditional mining operations instead of marginalizing them. International mining companies typically saw small-cale miners as nuisances to be removed or obstacles to efficient extraction. The Burkina Bay government sees them as partners to be supported, regulated, and integrated into national mining strategy. This approach recognizes that mining expertise exists at all levels of society, not just in boardrooms in Toronto. It is about building an inclusive mining economy rather than an extractive one. But nationalizing existing mines is just the beginning of Burkinafaso's resource revolution. The real economic transformation comes from building the capacity to add value locally instead of shipping raw materials overseas for processing. The country has approved construction of its first gold refinery, marking a shift from exporting raw ore to processing finished products domestically. This is where the economic impact becomes transformative. Refined gold commands premium prices compared to raw ore. Refining creates skilled jobs. It requires supporting industries, equipment manufacturing, chemical processing, quality control, logistics networks. Instead of being a raw material supplier, Bkina Foso is positioning itself as a mineral processing economy. That is the difference between being a colonial supplier and being an industrial power. What is emerging in Burkina Faso represents a completely different economic model for African resource extraction. Instead of foreign companies capturing the majority of value from African resources, state entities are keeping profits domestically to fund national development. Revenue that used to flow to pension funds in Toronto and investment portfolios in London now funds infrastructure, education, health care, and industrial development in Burkina Faso. The same gold deposits that generated steady returns for international shareholders are now generating development capital for the people who actually live above them. For international mining companies, what's happening in West Africa represents an actual threat to business models that have dominated the industry for over a century. Supply chains that were once managed from boardrooms in Toronto, London, and Sydney are now subject to decisions made in Wagadugu, Bamako, and Naimi. When Chinese manufacturers need gold for electronics production or when European companies need uranium for nuclear power, they increasingly have to negotiate with African governments rather than just cutting deals with Western mining executives. Revenue that previously flowed to foreign shareholders now stays in the country to fund economic development. But it goes deeper than just keeping mining profits at home. State controlled mining operations are building local financial institutions, training local experts, and creating domestic capital markets that can support mining development. Instead of depending on international banks for project financing, they are building local financial capacity. Instead of relying on foreign currency for equipment purchases, they are developing regional trade relationships. This financial independence is just as important as operational independence. It means African countries can make mining decisions based on their own economic priorities rather than the priorities of international financial institutions. What makes Burkinafaso's mining revolution even more remarkable is that it is actually working. Despite all the warnings about inefficiency and mismanagement that always accompany nationalization, state controlled mining operations are maintaining and in some cases increasing production. What we are witnessing in Burkina Faso is a different nationalization story and the emergence of a new model for African resource control that could reshape global mining relationships permanently. Until recently, most countries followed the same formula when dealing with multinational mining firms, offer tax incentives, ensuring stability clauses, providing exploration licenses, and competing for foreign capital. The thinking was that resources in the ground mean nothing unless someone has the capital and technology to extract them. And for years, Bkina Faso played by those rules. But now those rules are being rewritten. Bkinaaso has introduced an entirely new way to engage with international capital. And this model is spreading because it offers something rare, leverage. The success of state controlled mining operations demonstrates that African countries have the technical expertise to manage their own resources. The integration of smallcale mining shows that development strategies can be inclusive rather than extractive. The construction of processing facilities proves that African countries can move up the value chain. Most importantly, the revenue from mining is staying in Africa to fund African development priorities rather than flowing to shareholders in Toronto, London, and Sydney. Other African countries are watching, learning, and adapting these strategies to their own situations. The legal frameworks that enabled Burkina Faso's nationalizations can be replicated elsewhere. The institutional structures that support state controlled mining can be modified for different countries. Not every country will adopt the same approach. Some will still favor joint ventures. Others will prefer higher royalties over direct ownership. But the old playbook, the one that said governments must always accommodate foreign capital to be competitive, is being quietly replaced. The multinational mining companies that have dominated African resource extraction for over a century will have to adapt to this new reality or find themselves excluded from some of the world's richest mineral deposits. Canadian companies that built their growth strategies around African mining concessions are discovering that those concessions were never as secure as they thought. The era of guaranteed access to African resources is ending. What replaces it will depend on the ability of international mining companies to develop genuinely equitable partnerships with African governments. Companies that can offer real technology transfer, substantial local benefit, and genuine partnership may still find opportunities in Africa. But companies that insist on the old colonial model of maximum extraction with minimal local benefit will find themselves joining the exodus from a continent that has finally decided to control its own destiny. African mining will never be the same again. Should more countries take direct control of their natural resources? Was Canada right to walk away without a legal battle? Can state-owned companies outperform multinationals in the long run? Drop your comments below if you enjoyed this insightful video. Give it a like, subscribe to the channel, and hit that notification bell so you don't miss the next one. We have more stories coming that will change how you see
