Burkina Faso creates state-owned Faso SANU to end anarchic artisanal gold mining and secure national gold resources
In line with the strategic orientations of the Popular Progressive Revolution (RPP), the Council of Ministers chaired this Thursday, November 5, 2026, by the President of Faso, Captain Ibrahim Traoré, took a decisive step in controlling national natural resources.
Through the adoption of three major decrees presented by the Minister of Energy, Mines and Quarries, Comrade Yacouba Zabré Gouba, the Burkinabè government is putting an end to the laissez-faire in artisanal gold mining and providing the Nation with a leading economic instrument: the state-owned company Faso SANU.
The end of anarchy on artisanal mining sit
For years, the small-scale mining and artisanal gold panning sub-sector suffered from informality, land disputes and clandestine exploitation of strategic perimeters. The first decree adopted by the Council now establishes a rigorous framework for reorganizing illegal sites, conflict zones and perimeters of strategic interest to the State.
This regalian reorganization pursues a dual objective: restoring a climate of social peace on the ground and securing Burkinabe subsoil wealth. During his communication, Minister Gouba reaffirmed the government’s determination to clean up the sector, recalling strict compliance with the legislation in force: any violation related to child labor on mining sites will be punished with the full rigor of the law.
Faso SANU: The sovereign tool for controlling national Gold
Beyond normative regulation, Burkina Faso is equipping itself with an economic and technical arm. The second and third decrees provide for the creation and adoption of the statutes of the state-owned company Faso SANU (“Faso Gold” in the Dioula language).
Structured to guarantee the country’s financial independence, Faso SANU is jointly owned 50% by the National Company for Precious Substances (SONASP) and 50% by the Public Treasury.
This architecture ensures that the added value from the processing and marketing of gold flows directly back into the national economic circuit.
Faso SANU will ensure the operational and technical management of the restructuring of the artisanal mining sector, concretizing the government’s desire to no longer abandon strategic resources to informal actors or capital flight networks.
A pillar of the popular progressive revolution
This major reform demonstrates that national sovereignty is not limited to defending the territory but extends to absolute mastery of economic levers. By reorganizing artisanal gold mining and creating Faso SANU, the Burkinabe State affirms its capacity to self-finance, create local value and transform the country’s gold into a genuine engine of development for the exclusive benefit of the Burkinabe people.
