• Mali creates new agency to regulate artisanal gold flows
• Up to 30 tons of gold go undeclared each year, with wider gaps over time
• Model draws on Burkina Faso’s success in formalizing the sector

Mali has approved the creation of a new agency to oversee precious substances, as the government moves to tighten control over artisanal gold production and curb large volumes of undeclared output.

The decision, adopted at the March 18 cabinet meeting, establishes the Office of Precious Substances. Authorities say the new body will help better track gold flows from artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM), a sector estimated to produce at least 30 tons of undeclared gold each year.

Official figures put annual artisanal production at around 6 tons, but several estimates suggest much higher levels. A 2024 report by Swiss organization SWISSAID found that 300 tons of ASM gold went undeclared between 2012 and 2022, representing about $13.5 billion in value.

The gap reflects the largely informal nature of the sector, where numerous mining sites and weak oversight make it difficult for the state to monitor production and trade.

Authorities acknowledge “challenges in controlling flows from artisanal and small-scale mining,” pointing to discrepancies between national data and import figures reported by destination countries. UN COMTRADE data shows that the United Arab Emirates reported importing 672 tons of gold from Mali between 2013 and 2022, while Mali declared exports of just 37.7 tons to the UAE over the same period.

The new agency is intended to centralize, regulate, and secure the commercialization of precious substances, including gold, although operational details have not yet been disclosed.

Lessons From Burkina Faso

Mali is not the first country in the region to try to formalize the artisanal gold sector. Burkina Faso has taken a similar approach through its National Precious Substances Company (SONASP), with visible results.

In 2025, Burkina Faso’s gold production exceeded 94 tons, up by more than 30 tons from the previous year. Much of that increase came from better integration of artisanal mining, which contributed 42 tons, compared with less than 10 tons annually in the past.

Authorities in Ouagadougou gave SONASP the mandate to buy gold directly from artisanal and semi-mechanized miners. The agency set up purchasing counters to capture output that previously bypassed official channels. At the same time, the government encouraged miners to organize into cooperatives to facilitate their integration into formal markets.

This model highlights both the approach and the potential gains for Mali, where gold accounts for 9.2% of GDP and generated CFA763 billion (about $1.34 billion) in government revenue in 2022.

Still, increasing that contribution will depend on Mali’s ability to enforce control over mining sites and trade routes. In several areas, artisanal mining operates in insecure environments where armed groups are present and sometimes benefit from the activity.

The army’s intervention at the Intahaka mining site near Gao in October 2025, aimed at restoring state authority, underscores the challenges on the ground. Border control will also be critical to limit informal gold flows to neighboring countries.

Beyond tracking production, improving working conditions remains a major issue. The sector is frequently marked by accidents, including site collapses that cause dozens of deaths each year.

Emiliano Tossou