Chief John Okorie has commended Burkina Faso for the inauguration of its first national gold refinery, describing the development as a significant step toward adding value to the country’s mineral resources and strengthening local industrial capacity.
Burkina Faso inaugurated the RAFFINOR-BF gold refinery in Ouagadougou on September 28, 2026, with Captain Ibrahim Traoré presiding over the ceremony. According to Burkina Faso’s government, the facility represents an important milestone in the country’s drive to process, control, certify and derive greater value from its natural resources domestically.
The refinery was developed with an investment of more than 11 billion CFA francs. Its first phase has a stated refining capacity of 164 tonnes of gold annually, with plans to expand the facility’s theoretical capacity to 515 tonnes per year.
Speaking on the development, Chief John Okorie said the project highlights the importance of African countries looking beyond the extraction of raw materials and investing in processing, manufacturing, technology and value addition.
According to him, natural resources can contribute more significantly to national development when countries develop the capacity to process and transform those resources locally.
He noted that the Burkina Faso development could stimulate discussions across Africa about mineral processing, job creation, industrialisation, skills development and stronger participation by African countries in the value chains surrounding their natural resources.
The Burkina Faso government has similarly stated that its objective is to move beyond simply extracting gold and exporting raw materials, with the refinery intended to help retain more value within the country.