• The government seeks to recover $54.8 million in unpaid mandatory contributions for 2023–2024.

• Only 29.59% of expected contributions were paid in 2023 and 49.55% in 2024.

• Authorities plan enforcement measures to compel operators to comply with the law.

Burkina Faso wants to recover more than CFA31 billion ($54.8 million) in unpaid contributions owed by mining and quarry operators to the country’s Mine Rehabilitation and Closure Fund (FRFM) for 2023 and 2024. The information appears in the cabinet’s communiqué of Thursday, 20 November, which describes the current level of resource mobilisation as “insufficient.”

The government reports that mining companies failed to meet their annual legal obligations under the FRFM, a fund created to finance the restoration of mine sites after operations end. The 2023 contribution record shows that only three industrial mines paid a combined CFA7.21 billion into the fund, while authorities expected CFA24.39 billion. The contributions therefore reached a realisation rate of 29.59%. Semi-mechanised mines and industrial quarry companies—14 and 31 respectively—paid nothing in 2023.

The situation improved moderately in 2024. Authorities collected CFA13.73 billion from seven mining companies, which represented a mobilisation rate of 49.55% of the CFA27.70 billion expected. Meanwhile, only seven companies submitted their rehabilitation and closure plans in 2023, compared with 17 in 2024, including 10 mining operators.

Article 32 of Burkina Faso’s 2024 mining code states that the FRFM finances the implementation of mine rehabilitation and closure plans and that it is supplied by mandatory annual contributions from holders of mining and quarry exploitation permits. Authorities calculate these payments based on the projected cost of rehabilitation works.

The government has not explained why many operators did not comply with this legal obligation. However, the cabinet communiqué indicates that the state will adopt measures to compel companies to pay what they owe. The authorities did not specify the nature of these enforcement measures.

Officials say the next decisions will come from the Ministry of Environment, which presented the situation during the cabinet meeting. The government did not disclose the identity of the companies in arrears. Several international mining groups operate in Burkina Faso, including West African Resources, Endeavour Mining, Iamgold and Orezone Gold.

This article was initially published in French by Emiliano Tossou

Adapted in English by Ange Jason Quenum