The latest report by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) on artisanal gold mining in the Sahel lifts a corner of the veil drawn over this highly lucrative trade.
It demonstrates that the map of artisanal gold mining sites in the region largely overlaps with the areas of activity of armed groups, including jihadist groups. This phenomenon is particularly prevalent in Burkina Faso and in the “three borders” zone between that country, Mali and Niger.
“The fungible and easily transportable nature of gold makes it attractive to criminal groups, including armed groups,” says François Patuel, head of the Research and Awareness Unit at the UNODC. The precious mineral, used as currency, is also a means of laundering money generated by drug trafficking.
“Armed groups and traffickers exploit the difficulties in gaining access to licences and offer protection to gold miners in exchange for funding,” says Patuel. “It’s a way of undermining the authority of the state. Others use [mines] as recruiting grounds for soldiers.”
In the Kidal region of Mali, most of the artisanal mines are thought to be in the hands of troops from the Support Group for Islam and Muslims (JNIM) or one of the armed factions making up the Coordination of Azawad Movements (CMA).
The rebels of the Front for Change and Concord in Chad (FACT) and the Military Command Council for the Salvation of the Republic (CCMSR) collect funds from mining sites in Chad and Niger, recruiting new fighters as they go.
In Burkina Faso, some of the clashes between the jihadists of the JNIM and those of the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS) are centred on the control of gold mining sites.
Every year, a total of 228 tonnes of gold are officially mined in Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger and Mauritania. But to this must be added the 108 tonnes of gold mined by artisanal miners, much of it illegally. This estimate should be treated with caution, but it does show the extent to which small-scale, informal production is involved.
In 2015, Ouagadougou estimated the loss of tax revenue from informal trafficking at $490m. In an attempt to limit this fiscal impact, Burkina Faso’s transitional authorities are banking on “formalising” the processing of gold from small-scale mines, and have announced the construction of a refinery in Ouagadougou, due to open by the end of 2024. This is a way of monitoring the supply chain and ensuring better traceability. “Burkina Faso will thus be able to secure its production chain,” says Patuel.
This issue of traceability is crucial. The United Arab Emirates (UAE), which is one of the main recipients of minerals from the Sahel region’s artisanal deposits – 238 tonnes of gold were imported by the UAE in 2021 – attributes the origin to “exporting” countries, foremost among them Mali, which undoubtedly owes its predominance to the re-export of artisanal produce from neighbouring countries.